Government forces advance against Houthis amid fighting in Yemen

Yemeni government and allied forces advanced on several fronts against the Houthis on Saturday, while a ballistic missile strike by the rebels killed four civilians south of Taiz, according to multiple sources cited by EFE.

Joint army forces reported advances south of Al Hudaydah and in southern Taiz, a southwestern province largely controlled by the internationally recognized Yemeni government. Military sources said government troops captured five strategic hills overlooking a main market and supply routes linking Houthi-held areas with two fronts.

The missile struck a gathering of civilians on the Haijat al Abed road south of Taiz province, local and medical sources told the state news agency Saba. Nine people were wounded. Government authorities accused the Houthis of continuing attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, describing them as violations of international humanitarian law.

Rashad al Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, blamed the Houthis for the humanitarian consequences of the escalation, including the displacement of “hundreds of families” from areas affected by the fighting. The rebels had not responded to the reports at the time of publication.

The latest fighting comes amid a wider deterioration on several Yemeni fronts and beyond the country’s borders. In recent weeks, the Houthis have attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. They have also launched offensives against government-held territory, particularly Marib, an oil-rich province, and the Red Sea coast. The renewed violence threatens to revive a conflict that had remained largely frozen since 2022, when a UN-mediated truce took effect. Although the truce later expired, it largely held until the escalation began in mid-July.

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hundreds of families