Military escalation between Houthis and government forces in Marib, Al-Jawf and Taiz

---

The United Nations warns of deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Taiz and reports that around 330,000 people have been displaced across Yemen since August.

Yemen has witnessed a fresh military escalation between government forces and the Houthis in the governorates of Marib, Al-Jawf and Taiz.

The battlefield developments coincided with a UN warning about worsening humanitarian conditions in Taiz city and reports that approximately 330,000 people have been displaced nationwide since last August. The Yemeni government has also urged Muslim countries to designate the Houthis a “terrorist organisation”.

• Continuing war crimes: Yemeni civilians remain under Houthi attack

• A Houthi Basij: Militias Begin Building an Auxiliary Force to Replace Their Losses

In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the Yemeni army said its forces were fighting the Houthis on the northern front of Marib governorate in central Yemen. The clashes extended to areas southeast of Al-Hazm city in the northern governorate of Al-Jawf.

The army said its forces had “responded to enemy fire with artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and repelled attacks launched by the terrorist militia in successive waves of fighters, inflicting losses in personnel and equipment”.

It added that its drones and artillery had targeted Houthi reinforcements and combat equipment on Marib’s southern and western fronts. Forces operating within the Third Military Region’s area of responsibility responded to Houthi fire along the front lines, inflicting casualties and material losses, according to the statement.

• The Houthis Are Managing Bab el-Mandeb by Email!

• Yemeni Government: Houthi Escalation Is Dangerous and Threatens Regional Security

In Al-Jawf governorate, the army announced that it was continuing to assault new positions and completing clearance operations in areas it had recaptured in the east.

It said units from the First and Third Divisions of the Emergency Forces were dismantling mines and explosive devices planted by the Houthis in those areas.

The Yemeni army also announced that combat aircraft had carried out 12 airstrikes against Houthi positions, reinforcements and military equipment in Marib and Al-Jawf.

Ten strikes targeted Houthi concentrations, positions and combat vehicles on the northern Marib and southern Al-Jawf fronts. According to the army statement, they “destroyed equipment and killed and wounded terrorist elements”.

• Breathing Difficulties and Fainting on Taiz’s Front Lines: Suspected Houthi Use of Toxic Substances Renews Scrutiny of Chemical Weapons

• Breathing Difficulties and Fainting on the Front Lines: Suspected Houthi Use of Toxic Gases Raises Alarm in Taiz

Two further strikes targeted the Al-Alam sector in eastern Al-Jawf, destroying a Houthi tank and combat vehicles. The statement did not identify which force had carried out the airstrikes.

In Taiz governorate, southwestern Yemen, the official Saba news agency reported on Tuesday evening that the armed forces had announced continuing battles against the Houthis across the governorate’s fronts.

The armed forces said they were engaged in fierce clashes on the Al-Shaqab, Al-Aqroud and Kahlan fronts south of Taiz.

They added that airstrikes on Houthi positions and concentrations across the governorate had destroyed military vehicles and equipment and left members of the group dead and wounded.

• Yemen: Nation’s Shield Forces Repel Houthi Attack on Al-Habqat Mountains in Lahj

• Houthis Target Aden Airport for Third Time in a Month as Escalation Threatens Civilian Lifeline

On the humanitarian front, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned in a statement early on Wednesday that conditions in Taiz city continued to deteriorate as vital supply routes remained cut off and pressure on essential services increased.

“Roads connecting the city to areas controlled by the Yemeni government remain severed or closed because of fighting, preventing the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance and commercial goods,” the office said.

OCHA reported that around 330,000 people had been displaced across Yemen since the beginning of August.

Taiz governorate hosts the largest number, approximately 140,000 people, accounting for more than 40 per cent of those displaced during that period.

• Yemen Targets Houthi Financing Networks

• More Than 250,000 Yemenis Flee Houthi Escalation, Most from Taiz

Separately, Yemeni Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Afrah Abdelaziz al-Zouba urged Muslim countries to designate the Houthis a “terrorist organisation”. She appealed in a telephone conversation with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh, according to a Saba report published early on Wednesday.

The two officials discussed developments in Yemen and the region, ways to strengthen cooperation between the Yemeni government and the organisation’s General Secretariat, and coordination of their positions in Islamic and international forums.

Al-Zouba outlined what she described as “the consequences of the siege imposed by the Houthi terrorist militia on Taiz city, its attacks on civilians and civilian objects in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and its threats to the security of international navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait”.

• From Missiles to Middlemen: Washington Scrutinises Iran’s Support Networks for the Houthis

• UN Security Council Demands an End to Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia

She said, “These attacks demonstrate the militia’s terrorist nature and require a firm, unified position from Muslim countries”. She called on member states to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organisation, cut off their funding sources and halt the flow of weapons to them.

• A Salary for Our Posts: Pro-Houthi Influencers Push Back over Propaganda Payments

• Houthis Target Aden Airport to Offset Their Setbacks at Bab al-Mandab

• Yemeni Army Focuses on Taiz Front to Wear Down the Houthis