Yemeni Army Reports Over 1,500 Houthi Casualties in Recent Fighting, Key Crossing Closed
Yemen's internationally recognized government forces claim significant gains against Houthi rebels, reporting over 1,500 casualties and closing a vital crossing.
Highlights
- Yemeni government forces conducted nearly 500 military actions against Houthi rebels in the last 24 hours.
- These operations reportedly resulted in 1,540 Houthi fighters being killed or wounded.
- The majority of the fighting and casualties occurred in the Taiz governorate, where government forces claim to have halted a Houthi advance.
- A crucial crossing point, linking Houthi-controlled al-Houban to government-held Taiz city, has been shut down.
- The closure of the crossing is attributed to security concerns, including Houthi attempts to infiltrate Taiz and increased military activity.
Details
According to Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, a military spokesperson, Yemeni government forces employed various armaments, including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and projectile weapons, to strike Houthi positions across the country on Friday evening. He stated that the most substantial impact of these operations was observed in the Taiz region, where the government's actions effectively stopped the Houthi forces from advancing further. No figures regarding casualties among government troops were provided by the spokesperson.
On Saturday, Ammar al-Sami’i, an army media official, confirmed the closure of the al-Houban crossing in Taiz. This route, which had been inaccessible for nine years, was reopened to civilians earlier in 2024 for humanitarian reasons, serving as an important link between territories controlled by the opposing factions. Al-Sami'i cited security considerations for its re-closure, pointing to attempts by Houthi forces to penetrate Taiz via this road, attacks in the surrounding areas, and a general increase in military presence.
Why it matters
The conflict in Yemen has intensified considerably since a fragile ceasefire, established between the government and Houthi forces in 2022, broke down in July of this year. The situation escalated further in mid-September when Houthi fighters advanced into parts of western Yemen, taking control of the port city of Mocha and several strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait. These recent military operations and the sealing of the al-Houban crossing underscore the ongoing escalation, which could worsen the humanitarian crisis. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced since the renewed fighting began in a civil war that commenced in 2014 when the Houthis captured Sanaa, the capital, forcing the internationally recognized government to relocate to Aden.