Yemeni army soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint in the entrance of Sanaa, Yemen.

Yemen’s national army and pro-government Popular Resistance committees have claimed control over a number of strategic locations in Marib governorate’s Sirwah, Al Arabiya News Channel reported a spokesman as saying on Wednesday.

Abdullah al-Shandqi, a spokesman for Popular Resistance committees, said about 35 of the rebels from the Iran-backed Houthi militias and forces loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh have been killed following clashes in the area.

The committees are armed groups, which were formed in several Yemeni provinces during the Yemeni Civil War and after the attempted coup by the Houthis to topple the internationally recognized government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi in September 2014.

Since the coup attempt, the Houthis have been in control of the capital, Sanaa.

Backed by the Saudi-led coalition, the Yemeni army together with the committees are trying to fully liberate Sirwah to finally enter the Khawlan area, considered to be one of the entrances to Sanaa.

Maarib is located 120 km east of Sanaa.

Meanwhile, Houthi sources said UN envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed did not present any new agenda during his meeting with the militia’s representatives in the Omani capital Muscat. Media outlets affiliated with the Houthis have also accused the UN envoy of being biased in favour of the government.

A Houthi delegation arrived in Muscat after they discontinued their regional tour which saw a visit to Iraq last week.

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