Ansar Allah gains and Marib talks increase pressure on Yemen’s Saudi‑backed forces
Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement has released footage from cities taken from rival forces and of captured heavy weapons, while talks continue with Marib tribes over handing the city to Sana’a’s authorities without a fight.
Ansar Allah, the Houthi‑aligned movement that controls Yemen’s capital, is trying to turn battlefield successes into political gains. The group has published new videos from cities it says it captured from the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) forces during a recent operation, and it is also involved in negotiations over the future of Marib.
The released footage shows fighters in urban areas under Ansar Allah’s control and includes images of seized equipment. At least one 122mm D‑30A (2A18M) howitzer appears, along with a UAE‑made Streit Group “Fiona” 6x6 mine‑resistant ambush protected vehicle. Capturing such artillery and armored vehicles strengthens Ansar Allah’s firepower while weakening the Saudi‑ and Emirati‑backed units that lost them.
While these gains are being showcased, attention is turning back to Marib. Observers say the “resumption” of the battle for the city is drawing near. In recent months, a series of negotiations have taken place between Sana’a and tribal leaders in Marib governorate. The aim, according to these accounts, is to hand over the city without bloodshed, with amnesty for tribal members in return.
Those involved in the talks point to signs of progress. They describe some tribal groups shifting their stance as negotiations advance, suggesting that parts of Marib’s local power structure are bracing for a possible Houthi victory rather than counting on the PLC’s staying power. The talks come after Ansar Allah made gains on the coast and around Taiz, adding to the sense of momentum.
Marib’s fate carries major human and strategic weight. The city hosts many internally displaced people who fled earlier front lines. A negotiated handover could spare them another round of fighting, but it would also extend Ansar Allah’s system of governance to a key energy‑rich area and change the balance of control in central Yemen.
For the PLC and its Gulf backers, the combination of recent territorial losses and the pressure around Marib raises the risk of being pushed back into a shrinking patchwork of enclaves. That would matter not only on the battlefield but also in any eventual talks over sharing oil and gas revenues and reconstructing the country.
The coming period will show whether the videos of captured cities and equipment are followed by more documented advances, whether Marib’s tribes make public moves that confirm a negotiated shift, and how Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates react if another major Yemeni city slips into Ansar Allah’s column.
Sources
- OSINT