Yemen forces capture last rebel outpost

Yemeni officials say they have taken the town of Sirwah, the last outpost of Houthi rebels in Marib province.

 Armed Houthi supporters raise their guns aloft in Yemen

Armed Houthi supporters raise their guns aloft in Yemen Source: AAP

Yemeni government forces and their allies, including troops from a Saudi-led coalition, have captured the last outpost of Shi'ite rebels in the key Marib province.

The anti-rebel forces took the town of Sirwah - the last outpost of the rebels known as Houthis in Marib province, and they are currently securing their gains there, according to Colonel Ayed al-Moradi, a Yemeni military official.

Later on Wednesday, the United Nations announced that the rebels had accepted a Security Council resolution calling for an end to the fighting.

Sirwah is about 88 kilometres east of the rebel-held capital, Sanaa.

The forces' advance on the town had been stalling for weeks in Marib.

Houthis say they repelled attacks amid air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition but Yemen's pro-government satellite TV broadcast footage of bodies and destroyed tanks and armoured vehicles from inside Sirwah.

The head of forces in Marib from the United Arab Emirates, which are part of the Saudi-led coalition, also confirmed the town's fall.

Emirati Brigadier General Ali Saif al-Kaabi told the satellite TV channel that the Marib province is now under anti-Houthi forces' control.

According to medical officials, 70 Houthis and more than 50 pro-government fighters were killed in three days of fighting over the town.

Witnesses said few Houthi pockets still remain in Sirwah.

Meanwhile, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the rebels accepted an April 14 Security Council resolution calling for the withdrawal of rebel forces from all areas they have seized and a halt to undermining the country's political transition.

It also imposed an arms embargo on Houthi leaders and their key supporters, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his son.


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Source: AAP


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Yemen forces capture last rebel outpost | SBS News