Government-aligned Giants Brigades stated on Friday that they had repelled a Houthi attack in the Al-Mudharaba district of Lahj province. The forces released a Facebook video showing Houthi fighters fleeing the area after the assault failed.
The International Organization for Migration reported on the same day that ongoing military escalation has displaced more than 340,000 people since August. The conflict has ended a period of relative calm that began in April 2022, worsening the humanitarian crisis.
The internationally recognized government controls most of Lahj province, which borders the interim capital Aden to the north and west. Key roads linking Aden to other provinces pass through Lahj, and several of its districts sit near the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden.
Fierce fighting has intensified since July, particularly in Taiz province, which overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Taiz connects northern provinces like Ibb and Sanaa with southern provinces such as Lahj and Aden.
The government-run Saba News Agency reported that warplanes conducted airstrikes targeting Houthi reinforcements in Wadi al-Sahya, located in Taiz’s Al-Shamayatayn district. The agency provided no details, and the Houthis did not immediately comment.
Government forces hold the city of Taiz and other parts of the province. The Houthis have advanced in recent weeks through rural and coastal areas including Al-Mokha, Al-Shamayatayn, Al-Ma’afer, Jabal Habashi, and Al-Wazi’iyah, leaving some areas contested and giving the group control over most of the province.
Taiz is Yemen’s most populous province and accounts for roughly 12% of the country’s population. It also houses the Red Sea port of Al-Mokha.
The Saba News Agency reported that Yemeni emergency forces seized a large shipment of drone components intended for the Houthi militia. The agency broadcast footage of the seizure but did not disclose the location or timing of the operation.
Yemeni armed forces vowed to press forward with operations to fulfill the goals of Operation Dawn of Yemen. Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council, stated that the operation, launched on Oct. 5, aims to restore state institutions from Houthi control and retake Sanaa, while taking measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s government since 2015. The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and several other provinces since the previous year.
