Fierce fighting across Yemen deepens humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 233,000 people
Fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters has intensified on multiple fronts in Yemen. At the same time, humanitarian agencies have warned that the country's humanitarian crisis is steadily deepening.
On Saturday, the pro-government Tur al-Baha military axis said in a statement that eight soldiers loyal to Yemen's internationally recognised government were killed in heavy clashes on the al-Maqatirah front in Lahij province. Qatar-based Al Jazeera reported the news.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 233,000 people have been displaced since fighting escalated in Yemen, including about 121,000 in Taiz province alone.
In Taiz province, government troops said they had killed 12 Houthi fighters in al-Akrud. Fighting has continued for days on the outskirts of Taiz city, where Saudi-backed government forces said they had halted a Houthi advance and inflicted heavy losses on the group.
Elsewhere in Taiz, government forces said they had broken a Houthi attack on the al-Shaqab front. The pro-government Homeland Shield Forces said a drone strike destroyed a Houthi supply vehicle in al-Waziyah. The Southern Giants Brigades said they carried out a precise strike on Houthi positions in al-Madaribah, near the Lahij border.
Meanwhile, government troops and allied Popular Resistance fighters are continuing their attacks in al-Jawf and Marib. Military officials said artillery shelling and drone strikes were carried out on Houthi military positions, barracks and troop gatherings in al-Jawf. Coalition aircraft bombed Houthi command centres and supply depots. In Marib, too, government artillery and missile units struck Houthi ranks.
Yemen's war has escalated sharply since the Houthis seized strategic territory from pro-government forces on the Red Sea coast last month. The Houthis are also known as Ansar Allah. In response to their losses, Saudi-backed government forces counter-attacked and later launched the 'Dawn of Yemen' operation. Its aim is to retake territory held by the Iran-aligned group, including the capital Sanaa, which the Houthis captured in 2014.
The fighting is also continuing in the air. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari claimed their air defences shot down a Saudi reconnaissance drone in the skies over Hajjah province. He identified the drone as a Turkish-made Lentatek Karayel and said it was the fourth of its kind downed since the latest escalation began.
The Houthis also claimed to have shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter in Najran, a Saudi province bordering Yemen. Colonel Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in Najran due to a technical fault, killing two crew members. Houthi media also reported 10 Saudi airstrikes at various locations in Saada province.
Off the coast of al-Mukalla, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said at least seven armed men in a skiff attacked a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker. They fired two rounds at the tanker. The ship's security team fired two warning shots in response, forcing the attackers to change course and withdraw.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Taiz city has effectively been cut off. Its 12 hospitals have only four days of fuel, no surgical equipment, and severe shortages of oxygen and medicine amid a growing cholera outbreak.
The displacement crisis has also spread to East Africa. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) confirmed that more than 4,000 refugees have reached the region, 3,800 of them in Djibouti and about 200 in Somalia. UNHCR added that health workers are treating a cholera outbreak at Djibouti's Markazi camp, where 31 cases and one death have been reported. With no sign of the fighting stopping, observers fear the situation will worsen further.
