Saudi-led warplanes continue bombing Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen's Marib: official

ADEN, Yemen, Oct. 25: Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition on Sunday continued bombing various sites controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen's oil-rich province of Marib, a military official told Xinhua.

"The Houthi-held sites in Marib were heavily struck by the Saudi-led coalition warplanes that succeeded in slowing down the rebels' progress toward the strategic city," the local military source said on condition of anonymity. "The rebels partially ceased their advance on the ground because of the heavy aerial bombardment that killed hundreds of them during the past days," he added.

The Saudi-led coalition expanded its air raids against the Houthis in an attempt to support the pro-government Yemeni forces stationed in Marib, according to the official. Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition announced in a brief statement that at least 264 Houthi rebels were killed and 36 of their military vehicles destroyed in the fighting in Yemen's Marib city during the past three days, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

Yemeni military sources confirmed that most of the airstrikes were conducted in Marib's southern district of Al Jubah and other surrounding areas that are witnessing non-stop armed confrontations between the two warring sides. However, the Houthi rebels' military spokesperson Yahya Saree dismissed the Saudi-led airstrikes on the Houthi-affiliated Masirah television network.

"If the enemy thought their warplanes could stop our troops' progress or break our fighters' resolve, they were mistaken," he said. Saree claimed that the rebels killed 550 pro-government soldiers, wounded 1,200 others, and captured 90 during a military operation in Marib. The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched in February a major offensive toward Marib in an attempt to seize control of the province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi militia forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital plan to boost employment, combat food crisis.

 Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock on Sunday launched a plan to create jobs and fight a potential food crisis amid the continuous rise of poverty and unemployment. "The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MAIL) launched a nation-wide plan today to prevent food crisis, reduce poverty and create job opportunities.

More steps will be taken soon by the government to promote common prosperity for all," Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock Abdul Rahman Rashid told reporters. The plan was launched after it was approved by the council of ministers of Afghanistan's caretaker government, according to the minister. As part of the nation-wide plan, the MAIL has launched a food-for-work program in Kabul province, where the country's capital is located, the minister noted. "The MAIL has launched a food-for-work program in Kabul today.

More than 40,000 people will be provided with jobs, they will receive wheat as they work, and the initiative will be expanded to other provinces," said the minister. The economic situation in Afghanistan has suffered after the takeover of the Taliban, which poses a huge economic burden on local residents with higher unemployment and rising poverty.

UN agencies, aid organizations and a number of non-governmental organizations are also racing against the time to deliver life-saving aid and supplies to crisis-hit Afghans ahead of winter.