The military escalation in Yemen has expanded in recent hours, with fighting, air strikes and reciprocal shelling reported across multiple fronts, leaving people, including civilians, dead and injured. The confrontation between Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition supporting legitimacy, and Ansar Allah (the Houthis) has entered its fourth month.
In Taiz governorate, 15-year-old Yusuf Abdul Warith Karami was killed and 29-year-old Awatif Abdullah was injured by mortar shelling attributed to the Houthis that struck a home in the Sala area east of Taiz city, according to the official Yemeni News Agency.
Yemeni government Legal Affairs Minister Ishraq al-Maqtari said four people were killed and others injured by Houthi ballistic-missile shelling that struck the densely populated city of Al-Turbah early on Wednesday. She added that further shelling attributed to the Houthis hit the Al-Ahyuq area in Taiz governorate's Al-Wazi'iyah district on Tuesday, killing a woman and injuring her child.
Saudi Arabia renews support for Yemeni government
Amid the escalation, Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its comprehensive support for the Yemeni government through the coalition supporting legitimacy, with the aim of extending the government's authority across the country, restoring stability and countering what it described as the “attacks by the terrorist Houthi militias”.
The Saudi position came in the annual royal address delivered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on behalf of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the opening of the third year of the ninth session of the Saudi Shura Council.
Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of adopting chaos, destruction and threatening the Yemeni people and the region as their course, stressing that it would not hesitate to respond firmly to any threat or attack affecting its security. Since the start of the current escalation in Yemen, the Houthis have announced attacks towards Saudi Arabia, which leads the coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
Government forces announce wide-ranging operations
On military operations, Yemeni armed forces spokesman Colonel Staff Officer Majed al-Nazili said government forces had carried out 468 targeting operations against Houthi personnel and equipment on the eastern and Al-Bayda fronts and the Al-Mansoura front in Al-Wazi'iyah district, Taiz governorate. Al-Nazili said the operations had killed and wounded hundreds of Houthi personnel, as well as destroying the group's military equipment and vehicles.
He also accused the Houthis of targeting civilians and civilian objects during the fighting. In a later announcement, al-Nazili said government forces had carried out eight “precise” targeting operations which, according to his account, destroyed Houthi reinforcements, weapons, military equipment and artillery batteries on the Al-Wazi'iyah front in Taiz.
He added that the operations had also destroyed a “mobile” air-defence system in Mokha, which he said had been developed by experts from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and had neutralised Houthi leaders and personnel in Al-Mansoura and the Bab al-Mandab area. Al-Nazili did not specify when the eight operations took place.
The Yemeni armed forces spokesman had announced on Tuesday evening that government forces had carried out 414 precise targeting operations against the Houthis during the 24 hours preceding that announcement. In response, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening of carrying out 51 air strikes in 24 hours. He said the strikes targeted the governorates of Marib, Saada, Hudaydah, Taiz and Amran.
In Marib and Shabwa governorates, the Shabwa Defence Forces said on Wednesday that they had thwarted a series of attacks and infiltration attempts by the Houthis on four separate battlefronts: Harib, Ain, Bayhan and Upper Merkhah.
The Shabwa Defence Forces said drone units had carried out concentrated air strikes alongside ground operations, targeting Houthi positions and movements and hitting military targets. It added that the strikes had caused human and material losses among the group and forced its personnel to retreat.
Defence discusses general mobilisation arrangements
In parallel with the fighting, Yemeni Defence Minister Lieutenant General Staff Officer Taher al-Aqili chaired a military meeting in the temporary capital Aden to discuss arrangements needed to implement directives from Presidential Leadership Council Chairman and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Rashad al-Alimi regarding general mobilisation and a general call to arms.
During the meeting, al-Aqili stressed the importance of coordination among government and community bodies, and of mobilising national capacities and resources to serve what he described as the national battle. The Defence Minister also called on all Yemenis to assume their national responsibility, stand by the republic and the state, and support the armed forces to restore the state and “end the coup”.
Al-Aqili said that “the solidarity of the people and support for the armed forces in waging the battle of salvation are a fundamental pillar in eliminating the coup project and preserving Yemen, its identity and its republican system”.
Interior Ministry announces dismantling of cells linked to Houthis
On security, Yemen's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday that security services had recently arrested a number of cells and individuals it said were linked to the Houthis in several governorates under government control. The ministry added that specialist services had identified other methods the Houthis allegedly use to circumvent security measures, including exploiting telecommunications networks.
The Interior Ministry accused the Houthis of forcing some citizens living in areas under their control to contact relatives and acquaintances in governorates under government control in order to gather information or pass on messages and requests that the ministry said served sabotage plans.
The ministry said specialist services were monitoring and tracking these methods and activities, and had the information and capabilities to uncover the cited activities, pursue those involved and take deterrent measures against them in accordance with the law. The Interior Ministry warned the Houthis, cells linked to them and cooperating individuals against continuing these activities, which it described as threatening security and civil peace.
It said the state's security, military and judicial institutions would confront any attempt to undermine citizens' security or the stability of the governorates. The ministry urged citizens to exercise caution and avoid engaging with messages or attempts that raise suspicions and could be intended to harm public security.
On child recruitment, Yemen's government Human Rights Ministry said it had documented the deaths of at least 100 children whom it said the Houthis had recruited during the armed clashes in September. The ministry said the announced figure represented only cases it had managed to document, noting that the information available to it indicated the actual number could be higher.
The ministry issued an urgent humanitarian appeal to parents and families in areas under Houthi control, calling on them to protect their children, prevent them from being lured or forced into the group's ranks, and safeguard their rights to life, education and protection.
The Human Rights Ministry said field information linked to the latest armed escalation showed that the Houthis continued to recruit children and send them to battlefronts. It added that it had recorded the presence of child recruits among those killed and captured during the fighting.
