Yemeni Forces Say They Launched 133 Operations Against Houthis in 24 Hours

Yemen’s internationally recognized government said Tuesday that its armed forces carried out 133 military operations against Iran-backed Houthi forces over the previous 24 hours, using rockets, artillery and drones against positions and military equipment across several fronts. The escalation follows a series of Houthi attacks on government-held territory, Saudi Arabia and shipping near the strategically important Bab el Mandeb Strait.

Military spokesman Col. Majed al-Nazili said government troops deployed along front lines participated in the operations, which the military said were intended to eliminate threats and reduce Houthi military capabilities. The government did not immediately provide an independently verified casualty figure from the latest strikes.

The announcement follows another large wave of government operations reported Sunday, when the military said it conducted 181 attacks against Houthi positions in areas including Taiz, Marib, Hodeidah, Dhale, Shabwa, Lahj and Mokha. Government forces have expanded their use of drones alongside conventional artillery and rocket systems.

The fighting has intensified after repeated Houthi attacks on Mokha, a government-controlled Red Sea port near Bab el Mandeb. A Houthi ballistic missile attack on the port Friday killed at least three people and temporarily halted operations, according to Yemeni authorities. Earlier Houthi missile strikes on a commercial vessel approaching Mokha killed six people, including four crew members and two members of Yemeni rescue forces.

The renewed violence has raised fears that Yemen could return to large-scale warfare after a UN-mediated truce in 2022 sharply reduced fighting. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council last week that Yemen faced its greatest danger of renewed major conflict since that agreement.

The Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognized government. The group has maintained control over much of northern and western Yemen while receiving military support from Iran.