Yemeni government forces and Popular Resistance fighters battled intensified Houthi attacks across Taiz province on Tuesday as Operation Dawn of Yemen entered its ninth day, with airstrikes targeting the group’s positions and reinforcements.
Fighting also extended to Marib and Al-Jawf, while the Southern Giants Brigades deployed reinforcements to the Al-Mudaraba front in Lahj province to counter Houthi movements threatening Al-Subaiha tribal areas.
The deployment came amid concerns that the Houthis were attempting to open an alternative route toward the western coast and break the encirclement of their fighters near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait.
Yemen’s armed forces announced 1,879 military targeting operations in recent hours, claiming that preliminary assessments showed around 950 Houthi fighters had been neutralized and 380 military vehicles and pieces of equipment destroyed or disabled.
Armed forces spokesman Col. Majed al-Nuzaili said the operations involved warplanes, drones, artillery, rocket launchers and sniper units.
Targets included fortifications, defensive positions, command-and-control centers, artillery and rocket-launcher emplacements, observation posts, troop concentrations, weapons depots and supply vehicles.
Nuzaili added that airstrikes in Taiz had hit Houthi reinforcements and convoys, dispersing fighters and disrupting efforts to reinforce positions and regroup.
Fierce fighting around Taiz
Clashes were concentrated on the Al-Dhabab front west of Taiz city and the al-Aqroudh and al-Shaqab fronts in the province’s south.
Government forces reported repelling Houthi attacks in Al-Dhabab and al-Aqroudh, forcing the attackers to retreat after suffering casualties and losing military vehicles.
Warplanes also struck Houthi positions and concentrations across the province, including Al-Dhabab and al-Misrakh.
The Taiz Military Axis Command reported additional strikes on positions in Milat, Tabbat al-Khalwa, al-Tabba al-Sawda and Tabbat al-Karba, west of the city. Government military statements said the strikes damaged vehicles and weapons, including a tank and artillery pieces, and killed or wounded Houthi fighters.
Clashes continued in Al-Dhabab, where government troops carried out ambushes targeting Houthi fighters, vehicles and military equipment.
The simultaneous attacks on the western and southern fronts underscored mounting pressure on government forces, which, backed by Popular Resistance fighters and air support, sought to prevent Houthi breakthroughs and the establishment of new positions.
Reinforcements sent to Al-Subaiha
On the western coastal front, the Southern Giants Brigades reinforced their deployment in Al-Mudaraba district of Lahj province, which borders al-Wazi’iyah district in western Taiz.
The reinforcements were intended to counter possible Houthi advances toward Al-Subaiha tribal areas.
Airstrikes targeted Houthi positions, troop concentrations and vehicles in al-Wazi’iyah and Al-Mudaraba as fighting intensified following a Houthi attack on government positions Monday evening, according to military sources. The front is strategically important because it connects Lahj with areas along the western coast.
Houthi movements there are viewed as a possible attempt to establish an alternative route toward the coast and relieve pressure on fighters surrounded near Bab al-Mandab. Government reinforcements aim to block advances through Al-Subaiha territory and secure routes linking the coastal fronts.
Operations expand to Marib and Al-Jawf
In Marib, government forces targeted Houthi positions and troop concentrations with artillery and drones, while airstrikes hit reinforcements and fortifications on several fronts.
Military statements said troops from the Third Military Region attacked Houthi positions on the southern fronts, inflicting casualties.
Fighting also continued in areas under the Seventh Military Region’s command in northern Marib.
Warplanes struck Houthi reinforcements and defensive positions on Marib’s southern and northwestern fronts.
Further airstrikes targeted Houthi positions and troop concentrations east of Al-Hazm district in Al-Jawf province, extending the campaign across multiple fronts.
Alongside the fighting, the armed forces said military engineering units were continuing to clear recaptured positions and areas of landmines and explosive devices to secure them for troops and prepare for the return of civilians.
