Military clashes continued on Thursday, 24 September 2026, on several Yemeni fronts, particularly in the governorates of Taiz, Lahj and Marib, amid a field escalation that left civilians dead and wounded and intensified displacement. Government forces announced that they had shot down a drone belonging to Ansar Allah (the Houthis) over Jabal Habashi district in Taiz governorate, in the country’s south-west.
Infiltration attempt thwarted near Hijej al-Abd road
Government forces said they had thwarted an infiltration attempt by the Houthis targeting positions near the Hijej al-Abd road, one of the vital routes linking Taiz governorate with Lahj and Aden. Military sources said government forces repelled the attack and deployed on the Hayfan front, while sources confirmed that the road had been made safe again for citizens and travellers.
Yemeni affairs editor Ahmed al-Shalafi said clashes were concentrated on the mountainous Hayfan front overlooking the road, amid efforts to prevent the Houthis from tightening the siege on Taiz city and cutting its supply lines. He added that the group was seeking to secure its positions on the western coast and pressure Taiz from several directions, alongside the continued mobilisation of government forces and clashes in contact areas.
School shelling leaves people dead and wounded in Lahj
In Lahj governorate, the local authorities accused the Houthis of shelling the Amr ibn al-As school in al-Mudharabah wa Ras al-Arah district, saying the school was sheltering displaced families. The authorities said the shelling killed three civilians and wounded four others. A government military team visited the Hayfan and al-Maqatirah areas, where forces tasked with securing the Hijej al-Abd road are deployed.
The forces said they had repelled Houthi attempts to advance on Wednesday evening, following an earlier announcement that an infiltration attempt towards the road had been thwarted and forces deployed on the Hayfan front. In al-Jawf governorate in northern Yemen, government forces released footage they said documented strikes on Houthi fortifications and positions on fronts east of al-Hazm city.
Rival accusations over strikes in Saada
This came as part of continuing military operations in contact areas between the two sides. Meanwhile, the Houthi-affiliated news agency said: “Saudi aircraft carried out four strikes on Qatabir and Marran districts in Saada governorate” in the north of the country. The agency quoted a local source as saying that one strike targeted the telecommunications network in the centre of Qatabir district, while three other strikes targeted Marran district.
According to al-Shalafi’s assessment, the map of field control had not changed significantly in recent times, while the fighting was moving towards a protracted war characterised by attrition. He said the Houthis were reinforcing their positions in the mountainous highlands south-west of Taiz and seeking to cut supply lines, particularly the Hijej al-Abd road linking Taiz, Lahj and Aden.
Al-Shalafi spoke of about 900 air strikes and missile attacks targeting Houthi positions in several governorates. He said government operations were currently concentrated on the western coastal front, without opening any major new fronts.
Shabwah attack adds to civilian casualties and displacement
In a separate incident in Shabwah governorate, an armed attack targeted a bus carrying civilians on the road linking Bayhan and Ataq, killing the driver and wounding four people, including two girls and a woman. Local media reported that the attack took place against the backdrop of tribal revenge. On the humanitarian front, the number of people displaced by the escalation of fighting in Yemen rose to more than 134,000, according to United Nations estimates.
The International Organisation for Migration announced on 18 September that at least 112,000 people had been displaced inside the country, before subsequent United Nations estimates indicated that the number of displaced people had exceeded 130,000 during the same month. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said clashes in Yemen had killed or wounded about 125 civilians since the beginning of August.
He called on all warring parties to distinguish between civilians and combatants at all times and to protect the civilian population in accordance with international humanitarian law.
Türk also urged all parties to the conflict to allow unhindered access for aid and humanitarian relief to civilians and to ensure its safe delivery to those in need, amid the widening displacement and continuing clashes in several Yemeni governorates.
