Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis has intensified in the past few hours in the provinces of Taiz, Lahj and Marib, alongside air strikes on the group’s positions. As the fighting escalated, the UN warned that the humanitarian situation continued to deteriorate and that aid access for those in need was becoming more difficult.
Kahboub battles and escalation in Lahj
The government-affiliated Nation’s Shield Forces said they had foiled a Houthi attack on their positions on the Kahboub front in Lahj province, after clashes lasting more than three hours. They added that they had repelled the attack three times and forced the attackers to withdraw, reporting casualties among their ranks and the destruction of military vehicles without specifying the number. On the same front, the government-affiliated Giants Brigades said they had shot down a Houthi drone of the Rajum model before it reached its target.
It also announced that three members of the group had been killed in a strike on a gathering of its fighters, and that four vehicles had been destroyed, killing those aboard, according to its account. The Kahboub highlands overlook the Bab al-Mandab area, and available information indicates that the Houthis are seeking to take control of them to secure their forces and strengthen their influence in the area bordering the maritime passage.
Air strikes and clashes on Taiz fronts
In Taiz, the Yemeni armed forces’ media centre said that fighting over the past 24 hours had centred on the fronts of al-Wazi'iyah district in the west of the province, particularly around the al-Durayfah junction. It said warplanes had targeted Houthi vehicles and gatherings in the area of the clashes and other positions in the district.
The centre added that the fighting and air strikes had killed 30 Houthi fighters and wounded 60 others, as well as destroying six military vehicles and two tanks. Yemeni armed forces spokesman Colonel Majid al-Nazili said the air force had targeted Houthi supplies and positions in Taiz and Mokha.
In Marib, the Yemeni armed forces said their artillery had targeted a vehicle carrying personnel, while sniper and artillery units carried out a joint operation that, according to their statement, set fire to a Houthi vehicle and destroyed a 106-millimetre gun west of the province. The Houthis, meanwhile, accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out 37 air strikes over 24 hours on positions in Taiz and Hajjah provinces. They said the strikes had caused civilian deaths and injuries, without announcing a specific toll.
UN documents civilian casualties
UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said the UN Human Rights Office had documented the deaths and injuries of 55 civilians in 19 incidents in the provinces of Taiz, Hudaydah, Marib and Lahj since the start of September, warning that the actual toll could be higher.
The World Food Programme announced that it was expanding its emergency response in Yemen, as thousands of families fled their homes because of renewed fighting along the western coast. The Houthis seized Hays and al-Khokha in Hudaydah, and the districts of Mokha and Dhubab in Taiz, reaching the Bab al-Mandab area, last week.
Fighting between government forces and the Houthis resumed about three months ago, after four years of a truce and de-escalation without a political settlement to the war, which has continued for 12 years. This coincides with Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and its vessels in the Red Sea, while the group and Riyadh trade accusations over imposing a blockade on areas under Houthi control.
