Houthis Suffer Heavy Losses in Taiz
The losses inflicted on the Houthis come after Tareq Saleh, commander of the pro-government National Resistance forces, vowed to retaliate against deadly attacks recently carried out by the Iran-backed group in several provinces.
Yemen’s pro-government National Resistance forces announced Friday that 27 Houthis had been killed and 19 others wounded in strikes carried out in Taiz province in the country’s southwest over a period of three days, as the Iran-backed group appears to be suffering unprecedented losses across several provinces.
The “2 December” news agency, affiliated with the National Resistance led by Tareq Saleh, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, reported that “more than 27 members of the Houthi militia were killed” in National Resistance strikes on the Al-Barh front in western Taiz province over the past three days.
The agency added that the strikes also wounded 19 members of the group, noting that they also set fire to and disabled several Houthi military vehicles and pieces of equipment, without specifying the number.
Tareq Saleh had recently vowed to retaliate against Houthi attacks in several provinces, particularly Marib and Lahij.
The expansion of the fighting raises questions about the Houthis’ ability to absorb mounting human and battlefield losses, particularly as the group has moved to open several fronts simultaneously. Continued fighting in Marib, Al-Jawf, Al-Dhale and Taiz could deplete its manpower and military capabilities while placing additional pressure on its supply lines and deployment capacity.
The deaths of dozens of fighters, including military commanders, could also limit the group’s ability to replenish its losses rapidly, despite its extensive experience in conducting combat operations. The scale of the losses and the Houthis’ ability to replace them will nevertheless remain dependent on continued Iranian support and the nature of the escalation in the coming period.
On Thursday, the state-run Saba News Agency reported that the Houthi movement had held funerals for 57 of its members over a period of ten days, including 31 officers, among them three brigadier generals. The agency said they had been killed on various battlefronts but provided no details regarding the locations or circumstances of their deaths.
The Houthis’ decision to open multiple fronts comes at the height of tensions between Iran and the United States, as negotiations between Washington and Tehran have entered a complicated phase amid differences in positions and the multiple conditions and issues under discussion. The group is seeking to ease pressure on its Iranian ally while continuing to target maritime navigation in the Red Sea.
Since April 2022, Yemen has experienced a period of relative calm in a war that began approximately 12 years ago between government forces and the Houthi movement, which has controlled several provinces and cities, including Sanaa, since September 21, 2014.
In recent weeks, clashes have resumed between the two sides in several provinces, including Marib, Al-Jawf, Al-Dhale and Taiz, in a country facing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian and economic crises.
The Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, led by neighboring Saudi Arabia, supports the Yemeni government forces, while Iran is accused of supporting the Houthi movement. The Houthis announced last July that they were imposing a maritime blockade on the kingdom, as Riyadh works to counter threats posed by groups allied with Tehran.
