Yemen’s fighting escalates as humanitarian crisis deepens
The conflict between government forces and Houthi fighters has intensified on several fronts across Yemen, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation. On Saturday, the Tur al‑Bahah military axis, affiliated with the internationally recognised government, reported that eight soldiers loyal to the government were killed in heavy clashes on the al‑Maqatirah front in Lahij governorate.
In Taiz governorate, government troops said they killed 12 Houthi fighters in al‑Aqroud after days of fighting on the outskirts of Taiz city. Saudi‑backed forces claimed they repelled Houthi advances and inflicted heavy losses on the group. The same province saw government forces break a Houthi attack on the al‑Shaqab front, while the Homeland Shield Forces, aligned with the government, reported destroying a Houthi supply vehicle with a drone in al‑Wazziyah. The Southern Giants Brigades also said they hit Houthi positions with precision strikes in al‑Madaribah near the Lahij border.
Government troops and allied Popular Resistance fighters continued their offensive in al‑Jawf and Marib. Military officials said they used artillery barrages and drone strikes against Houthi positions, barracks and troop gatherings in al‑Jawf, and coalition aircraft bombed Houthi command hubs and supply depots. In Marib, government artillery and missile units targeted Houthi lines.
The war has surged since the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, seized strategic Red Sea‑coast territory from forces loyal to the internationally recognised government last month. In response, Saudi‑backed government forces launched a counteroffensive called “Dawn of Yemen,” aimed at retaking Houthi‑held areas, including the capital Sanaa, which the Iran‑aligned group captured in 2014.
On the aerial front, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed that Houthi air‑defence forces shot down a Saudi reconnaissance drone over Hajjah governorate, identifying it as a Turkish‑made Lentatek Karayel model and saying it was the fourth of its type downed since the latest escalation. The Houthis also said they shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter in the border province of Najran. Saudi‑led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al‑Maliki attributed the crash of an AH‑6i reconnaissance helicopter in Najran to a technical malfunction that killed two crew members. Houthi media reported ten Saudi air strikes on sites in Saada governorate.
Off the coast of al‑Mukalla, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a skiff carrying at least seven armed men fired two shots at a liquefied natural gas tanker. The vessel’s security team responded with two warning shots, prompting the attackers to change course and disengage.
Humanitarian agencies warned that the conflict’s toll on civilians is rising sharply. The International Organization for Migration said more than 233,000 people have been displaced since the fighting intensified, including about 121,000 in Taiz governorate alone. The World Health Organization warned that Taiz city is now functionally isolated, with its twelve hospitals holding fuel for only four days, lacking surgical supplies and facing critical shortages of oxygen and medicine amid a growing cholera outbreak.
The displacement crisis has spilled over into East Africa. The UN Refugee Agency confirmed that over 4,000 refugees have reached the region, with 3,800 in Djibouti and roughly 200 in Somalia. Health workers in Djibouti’s Markazi camp are treating a cholera outbreak that has recorded 31 cases and one death.