Houthi militias in Yemen have intensified their attacks on battlefronts located west and northwest of the oil-rich governorate of Marib, where over a million internally displaced civilians sought asylum from the ongoing violence of the Iran-backed group. Stepped-up offensives expanded into the nearby governorate of Taiz, but the Yemeni army, backed by local pro-government forces and the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, confirmed the Houthis were still incurring heavy losses on the battlefield. Houthis have buried over 500 militants in the last month alone, battleground sources revealed. Meanwhile, army media reported dozens of bodies of dead Houthi militants were still scattered around contact lines west of Marib. The national army killed no less than 40 Houthi militants in the western edges of Marib governorate, military sources said. Backed by tribesmen, the national army foiled advances towards al-Mashjah and al-Kasara fronts attempted by Houthis, who were forced to retreat at the end. Arab Coalition aircraft targeted Houthi reinforcements in the two fronts, leaving human and ordnance losses, sources added. In Taiz, fierce fighting early on Thursday killed 37 Houthi militants. “Government troops fended off a Houthi attack targeting the Air Defense camp in the northwestern part of Taiz city, leaving 12 Houthis killed and others injured,” reported the Aden-based Saba news agency. The western front of Maqbana, a district of Taiz governorate, also saw violent confrontations that left nearly 25 Houthis killed and others injured, the government-run news agency added. In other news, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi renewed his country’s strong rejection of Iran’s expansionist agenda, regardless of the price it costs. The coup waged by the Iran-aligned Houthi militias, according to the president, has only produced death and destruction and inflicted untold and widespread suffering on the lives of millions of Yemenis.