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In the first active line of the long Yemeni civil war, the month-long battle for the city of Marib has become a constant trail of dead and wounded on both sides.
Houthi rebels have been trying to take the city since February, but have defended it against heavy airstrikes by Saudi Arabia. Yemeni government troops defending Marib say they need more and better weapons to turn the tide.
Once again in the peace talks, this time led by Oman, officials and observers believe that the final winners of Maribe will order conditions for peace.
Marib – 115 km (70 miles) east of the capital Sanaa on the edge of the great Yemeni desert – is a strategic gateway from the central highlands to the southern and eastern provinces.
There are also oil and gas fields, where international companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp and Total SA, have interests. The natural gas bottling plant produces a cooking gas of 29 million inhabitants. Its plant once supplied 40% of Yemen’s electricity.
The relative stability of recent years made it a refuge for those fleeing other fronts of the war. The area, which had a pre-war population of 400,000, now houses 2.2 million displaced people, many of whom are crammed into camps.
The streets of the city are crowded with taxis and 4 × 4 security vehicles during the day. At night, men walk to restaurants and cafes or gather at homes, chewing qat leaves for an incentive effect. They don’t pay much attention to fights outside their city.
‘Martyrs at war’
But they serve as a reminder of the posters of fallen commanders and troops on the roads. The city’s cemetery has been enlarged to absorb the abundance of the dead.
“We bury between 10 and 15 people every day, most of them martyrs in war,” said a guard at Mohammed Saeed Nasser Cemetery.
Dozens of battalion wounds have been plagued over the months at the main hospital in Maribe, Dr. Mohamed Abdo al-Qubati said.
In one intensive care unit, there were 10 patients. In one of the beds, 22-year-old Ali Saad was partially stopped. A Houthi sniper shot him in the front line on June 18th.
“I suffered a lot of captivity, they tortured me physically and mentally,” he said. “That gave us a chance to see what the Houthis really were like. We came out with a strong and indescribable will to fight them. ”
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