Houthis Launch Offensive in Taiz, Triggering New Displacement Wave in Yemen: how 14 outlets framed it
Taiz fighting drives flight
Saeed, who had settled in al-Rahabah camp in the Jabal Habashi area 90km (55 miles) south after fleeing in 2022, told Al Jazeera that “Fighting erupted suddenly at night.”
He said the frontlines appeared near the camp the next morning and that “There was no solution but to take our basic belongings and flee,” as families from neighbouring camps and villages also ran.
Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis launched an offensive against government forces on the western fronts of Taiz governorate early Thursday morning, using missiles and drones before initiating ground fighting described as the fiercest since 2022, and that the Houthis advanced across several fronts in Maqbanah, Mawzaa and Jabal Habashi districts.
The article also said Saudi-backed government forces claimed they were confronting the attacks and had retaken some areas, while military reinforcements, including fighters and military vehicles, were arriving for both sides.
Competing death tolls
As the escalation unfolded along Yemen’s western coast and near the Bab al-Mandab strait, multiple outlets reported different casualty totals for clashes between Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces.
TRT World said the fighting had killed 81 combatants since Thursday, citing government military officials and reports coming from Houthi-held areas, with a military official on the Red Sea coast saying 24 of his men had been killed and another official in the inland Taiz region reporting 15 deaths.
TRT World also reported that medical sources in areas controlled by the Houthis said at least 42 Houthis had been killed, while adding that the death toll figures could not be independently verified.
NDTV likewise reported that “Clashes between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces have killed 81,” citing military and medical sources, and described the Houthis as pushing towards territory bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait.
NDTV said the government sent reinforcements to Taiz from Aden on Saudi orders, while describing Houthi ground assault near coastal areas with rocket and drone attacks as they sought control of the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait at the Red Sea’s southern entrance.
Strategic stakes on the coast
TRT World reported that government military sources told AFP the Houthis were seeking to cut off the key port city of Mokha from other government-held areas, and that the city has come under fire for weeks.
It also said the Houthis were attempting to advance towards areas bordering the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, and that the death toll figures could not be independently verified.
The Arab Weekly described Yemen’s western front as seeing some of its most serious fighting in years, saying Houthi forces launched ballistic missiles and drone attacks as government-backed forces reinforced positions along a stretch of coastline near the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait.
The Arab Weekly reported that Yemeni government forces said Houthi fighters had launched “14 ballistic missiles” alongside drone attacks targeting populated areas and military concentrations in Taiz and Hodeidah provinces, while also stating that the ballistic missiles did not hit positions held by government forces along the coast.