LONDON: Yemen’s military commander heading army troops in Marib Maj. Gen. Mansour Thawaba said he was hopeful of advancements in the strategic province after Houthi supply lines were cut. There have been “great advances” in the past two days in Bayhan, Usaylan and Harib, the major general told Al-Arabiya, noting that army forces cut the Houthis’ supply line between Bayhan and Harib. He explained that military operations continued on all fronts, with the southern front seeing most of the action. He also noted the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s support with airstrikes. “Marib is not besieged, and the Houthis are far from achieving this,” he said. He added that most of those fighting for the Houthis were children and young men. “They do not care about the children of Yemenis who are killed by the dozens every day,” he said, referring to the Houthi militia. The coalition announced on Friday night that it had destroyed a ballistic missile launcher south of Sanaa. The coalition added that it also destroyed a “mine-making workshop” in the capital, stressing that it had taken “preventive measures to spare civilians and civilian structures from collateral damage” during the airstrikes.