Yemen’s government forces attack Houthis amid renewed shelling of Marib

Fears of a wider conflict grow as Yemen’s army counterattacks and expert warns ‘all the warning signs are there’.Yemeni government forces have launched attacks on Houthi positions across multiple front lines, hours after the group renewed its shelling of Marib city, raising fears that years of relative calm could give way to wider conflict.A military spokesman said the attacks on Saturday targeted the Houthis’ “capabilities and forces” along “multiple axes and along the line of contact”, describing the operation as necessary to “protect unarmed civilians”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Houthi strikes in Yemen as Saudi Arabia braces for attacks: What we knowlist 2 of 3Houthi attacks on gov’t forces hint that a major battle in Yemen is brewinglist 3 of 3Yemen’s collapsing healthcare forces the sick to seek alternative medicinesend of listThe military operation came after Houthi missile and drone attacks on the provinces of Hadramout and Marib killed at least 30 government soldiers and wounded 15 others on Thursday.Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Gezan said Saturday the Houthis had “resumed shelling civilian neighbourhoods in Marib city with missiles and drones.”The renewed shelling of Marib, a city hosting more than 2 million of Yemen’s nearly 5 million displaced people, followed an attack on Friday that killed two civilians and wounded 14 more, according to Yemen’s Health Ministry.The Houthis said they were targeting a military camp on the city’s outskirts, while the Yemeni army said it repelled a separate attack Friday evening without casualties.Fears of return to full-scale conflictAl Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, said it marked the first time in months the government forces had announced a counteroffensive, framing it as retaliation for a Houthi shift towards preemptive strikes on army positions in Marib and Hadramout.The Houthis, Mawry said, claim they are acting on suspicions that government forces are coordinating with Saudi Arabia on a broader offensive against Houthi-held territory.