Why the Houthi advance towards Yemen’s Marib, Taiz matters

EXPLAINERMarib is home to Yemen’s oil and gas sector. Whoever controls it secures major economic gains. Taiz’s location makes it strategically critical.Yemen’s government forces have carried out air attacks against the Iran-backed Houthis to repel their advances, as the rebel group has been gaining ground in government-held positions in the past week.The focus of the fighting is now shifting to the region of Marib – the government’s last remaining stronghold in the north and a major oil and gas hub. Should the Houthis gain control of it, it could decisively turn the tide of the war in their favour, say analysts.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Houthi projectile wounds two, damages mosque in Jazan region, Saudi sayslist 2 of 3Yemen’s Houthis seize strategic Mayun Island in Red Sealist 3 of 3More than 2,000 Yemenis flee to Djibouti as fighting intensifiesend of listHeated battles are also taking place in western Taiz, on the western coast, where reports suggest government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia, are now on the counteroffensive after losing some ground there last week. A video released on Monday by the Yemeni army purports to show Houthi positions and vehicles being bombed there.Trapped in the middle are the civilians. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported that more than 85,000 have been forced to flee their homes since the beginning of September. More than 2,000 have fled into Djibouti’s northern shores.So why does Marib matter?It is the last remaining stronghold of anti-Houthi forces in northern Yemen. A Houthi expansion there would threaten government presence and weaken its leverage in the north.Marib also hosts the country’s largest gas and oil fields, meaning that whoever controls it holds some of Yemen’s most important energy infrastructure and a potentially crucial source of revenue.“Dominating Marib’s oil and gas resources has been a Houthi goal for more than a decade. Without facing a crushing defeat in Marib, they would keep fighting to achieve that goal,” Saddam al-Huraibi, a Yemeni political commentator, told Al Jazeera. Should they gain control of it, the group could earn great leverage to negotiate favourable terms in any future mediation effort.