Forces of Yemen’s internationally recognized government have reclaimed large swaths of territory in a southern province from Iran-backed Houthis, government officials said Wednesday.

The push in the southern province of Shabwa comes amid heavy airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis elsewhere in Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa. The Houthis have also stepped up their cross-border attacks, using ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones to target Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis recently also seized an Emirati ship in the Red Sea off the contested city of Hodeida.

A Yemeni military spokesman, Mohammed al-Naqib, said the troops’ advance in Shabwa aims to cut supply lines for the Houthis who have been attacking the key city of Marib, the last government stronghold in northern Yemen, since early last year.

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis took Sanaa and much of the northern part of the country, forcing the government to flee to the south, then to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition, backed at the time by the U.S., entered the war months later to try restoring the government to power.

The conflict has since become a regional proxy war that has killed tens of thousands of civilians and fighters. The war also created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine.

Government troops, aided by allied Giants Bridges, swept through Shabwa earlier this month, retaking most of the Usailan district from the Houthis. Al-Naqib said they also pushed through the nearby Bayhan district, retaking several villages.

Fighting has also escalated since November around the city of Hodeida, in a setback to the U.N.-brokered cease-fire in 2018 that ended fighting over the strategic port.

-AP

-File photo