The militant group has advanced on the cities of Taiz and Marib, with the renewed fighting displacing tens of thousands in the war-torn country

Yemen’s Houthis have renewed their drive against Saudi-backed government troops, reporting advances on the cities of Taiz and Marib.

Over the course of the week, the group officially known as the Ansarallah movement seized large swaths of land along the country’s Western coast. The militants captured the strategic Red Sea ports of Mocha and Dhubab, as well as Mayyun (Perim) Island at the mouth of the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Over the weekend, the group reported new advances into the city of Tayiz, which is now left in a narrow pocket extending into the Houthi-controlled territory. The group claimed to have seized several villages and key hilltops to the southwest of the city, which is now connected to the rest of government-controlled territory via a single highway.