Clashes between army and Houthis in central Yemen

At least 22 have been killed after fighting escalated in Taiz last night, according to sources from the Yemeni army.

The national army and popular resistance made territorial advances in Taiz on the ground, with air support from the Saudi-led coalition. The Houthi and Saleh fighters were then surrounded, which led to the resistance forces killing 15 Houthi and Saleh militants.

This comes after media reports of the Yemeni government leaving Taiz, amid disagreements between local forces and the government. While local resistance forces have expressed their frustration at the lack of sufficient support they have received from the Saudi-led coalition and national army to secure their gains from Houthi and Saleh militia forces, local sources have informed MEMO that the national army remains in Taiz and the damage in relations between the local resistance and the army have been heavily exaggerated.

In Marib, the national army and allied tribes managed to push back the Houthi rebels from advancing into the Serwah district, around 20 kilometres from the Sana’a-Marib border and around 100 kilometres away from Sana’a itself. The national army retook Serwah from the Houthi and Saleh forces in September.

The main road that connects Sana’a and Marib runs through Serwah, which is why the Yemeni army prioritises keeping hold of it.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Houthi rebels allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition.