Houthi rebels in Yemen this week secured crucial areas of oil-rich Marib province — the main stronghold of the internationally recognized government of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The Houthis took over critical parts of the province March 10, building on recent victories that gave them control over the strategic Nahm district, east of the capital, Sanaa, and the Hazm district, the center of al-Jawf province. They also captured al-Ghail district adjacent to Hazm in the country's northeast.