Sanaa, Jun 24 (IANS): At least 84 people were killed as fighting intensified between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi militia in oil-rich province of Marib, an official has confirmed.

The official told Xinhua news agency on Wednesday that the clashed erupted over the control of key areas on the northern part of the Marib.

He said the Houthis launched a major attack on the military positions of government forces, and that their attacks were repulsed.

He confirmed that the clashes were ongoing on all fronts in the north, northwest and west of the government-controlled province.

He said the fighting left 28 members of the government forces and nearly 56 fighters of the Houthi rebel group dead during the past 48 hours.

The Houthi media outlets reported that the the Saudi Arabia-led coalition carried out 27 airstrikes against the group's positions in Marib.

During the past hours, the Houthis renewed their missile attacks on Marib, weeks after a relative calm on all fronts of fighting in the strategic Yemeni province.

The Houthi rebels began a major offensive against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government army in February to capture Marib, which hosts over 2 million internally displaced people from across the country's northern provinces.

The UN has repeatedly warned that the assault on Marib could lead to a major humanitarian catastrophe.

According to the UNOCHA, the continued conflict across Yemen, including in Marib, has displaced 6,292 families, or about 37,753 individuals, so far in 2021.

Previous UN-brokered negotiations between Yemen's warring sides and other relevant parties have failed to produce any agreement of ceasefire.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.