Following intense clashes and airstrikes in the Yemeni provinces of Marib and Shabwah, the Yemeni Armed Forces declared the killing and injury of dozens of militants from UAE-backed militias.

Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said via Twitter that the group “was able to confront wide progress of the UAE mercenaries and ISIS towards the districts of Harib and Ain without making any progress despite the intense air cover with more than 24 air raids.”

تمكنت قواتنا بفضل الله من التصدي لزحف واسع لمرتزقة ودواعش الإمارات باتجاه مديريات حريب وعين دون إحراز أي تقدم رغم الغطاء الجوي المكثف بأكثر من 24 غارة جوية وتم تكبيدهم خسائر فادحة حيث تم تدمير وإعطاب ست مدرعات وإصابة أكثر من 40 بينهم قادة ألوية وكتائب.

— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) January 14, 2022

Saree went on to add that the militants, belonging mainly to the Salafist Giants Brigades, “sustained serious casualties … as six armored vehicles were destroyed or damaged, and more than 40 people were injured, including brigade and battalion chiefs.”

The Yemeni army and allied Popular Committees say they “targeted enemy gatherings with four ballistic missiles and a drone.”

They also described the attack as “accurate and resulted in the death and injury of dozens, and the attacks generated a state of dread and considerable collapse in the enemy’s ranks.”

Saree also urged the families of what he called “mercenaries of the Emirates” to “withdraw their sons from engaging them in battles that serve only America and its followers in the region.”

He noted that “the armed forces held the determination to defend the people and the country by all available means, and that the combat zones will be a holocaust for them.”

On 14 January, the Saudi-led coalition also claimed the deaths of scores of Yemeni Ansarallah militants in air operations conducted in the provinces of Marib and Al-Bayda in northeastern and central Yemen.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the coalition “carried out 36 targeting operations against the Houthi militia in Marib during the last 24 hours, destroying 22 military vehicles and murdering more than 250 terrorist individuals.”

“We carried out 12 targeting operations in Al-Bayda during the last 24 hours, destroying 7 military vehicles and eliminating more than 80 terrorist fighters,” the statement continued.

According to local sources, the Giants Brigades had taken control of huge regions in the district’s north and west.

The militias were dispatched from Shabwah province to Marib in an effort to stymie the advance of the Yemeni army.

Riyadh’s airplanes have unleashed constant airstrikes over Shabwah in recent weeks, forcing the Yemeni Armed Forces back from regions they had freed.

The Giants Brigades’ latest offensive comes just days after ousted president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi issued a warning about the “imminent” liberation of Marib and the possible entrance of the Yemeni army in neighboring Hadhramaut province.