Government forces recapture ‘strategic’ positions from Houthis in western Yemen, army says

The Yemeni army said Saturday that its forces had recaptured several “strategic” positions from the Houthi group in Taiz and Al-Hudaydah in western Yemen, Anadolu reports.

Government forces “achieved battlefield victories on the Haifan front” along the administrative border between Taiz and Lahj provinces, the army’s September Net news outlet said.

The website, citing a military source, said clashes on various fronts in Taiz and along the western coast killed and wounded dozens of Houthi members and destroyed dozens of vehicles belonging to the group.

The source added that fighting was still ongoing across the Taiz and western coastal fronts.

The army also said that its forces had thwarted a Houthi infiltration attempt in the Al-Qasr area east of Taiz city.

In a statement, it said clashes resumed between its forces and the Houthis around the city’s eastern entrance, without providing further details.

According to an Anadolu reporter, a series of explosions were heard east of the city, coinciding with clashes between government forces and the Houthis.

The army also said its aircraft carried out 15 airstrikes on Friday against Houthi positions in Taiz and Al-Hudaydah.

The government-aligned National Resistance Forces also said that they had destroyed two Houthi boats off the coast of Al-Hudaydah.

In a Saturday statement, the forces said two explosives-laden boats had attempted to target the Al-Fajrah area south of Al-Khokha and the port of Mocha, without providing further details.

Separately, the forces announced the start of a counterattack against the Houthis on the southern Al-Jarahi front in Al-Hudaydah.

The developments are part of a series of reciprocal attacks that began last July, ending a period of relative calm that had prevailed on Yemen’s fronts since 2022.

​​​​​​​The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and several other cities since September 2014, while the internationally recognized government and allied forces control large areas of southern, eastern and western Yemen.