Fighting raged between the Yemeni government army and Houthi militia over the control of the country's oil-rich province of Marib in the past 24 hours, a military source said Sunday.

The fighting took place across frontlines in Yemen's western districts of Medghal, Sirwah, Jabal Murad and Rahabah.

"The army backed by the Saudi-led coalition repelled the attacks, killing dozens of the attackers," he said, adding that up to nine soldiers were wounded in the fighting.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported 15 coalition airstrikes on the Houthi positions in Marib, affirming that the battle is continuing.

This was the first such large-scale attacks since the Houthis began in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the government's last northern stronghold.

The United Nations has warned that the offensive on Marib, which hosts nearly 1 million internally displaced people, could lead to a major humanitarian catastrophe.
The UN's recent peace proposal to end the war was publicly rejected by the Houthi group.

Yemen's civil war flared up in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.