ADEN (Dispatches) – Eight people were killed and at least 15 others wounded in clashes between tribal gunmen in Yemen’s northeastern oil-rich province of Marib, a government official say.
Ferocious clashes erupted between gunmen from the al-Munif and al-Fahih tribes in the al-Wadi district of Marib, the local government official said on condition of anonymity.
The clashes were caused by a dispute over land ownership between the two tribes, the source said, adding a ceasefire began to take effect on Friday night.
Despite the ceasefire, tensions remain high as both sides have deployed heavily armed reinforcements in different areas of Marib, according to the official.
Marib province, which houses Yemen’s most crucial oil and gas fields, is controlled by Saudi-backed mercenaries and former government officials. In recent years, the province has been engulfed in intense conflicts between Sana’a-based government and Saudi-backed forces.
Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allies and with arms and logistical support from the United States and several other Western states.
The objective was to return power to Yemen’s former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.
While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to achieve its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.