Yemeni forces step up offensive against Houthis on western fronts
ADEN – Yemen’s government forces said on Sunday they had retaken and consolidated positions in the provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah, while thwarting Houthi infiltration attempts and carrying out air strikes against the group’s positions and gatherings in several provinces.
The Yemeni army said the military operations carried out on several fronts had resulted in battlefield gains and inflicted human and material losses on the Houthis, in the latest sign that fighting is widening after weeks of sustained escalation.
The Yemeni Armed Forces Media Centre said in a statement posted on X that government forces had conducted “wide-ranging military operations” on Sunday, including retaking and consolidating positions, thwarting infiltration attempts and targeting Houthi positions and gatherings.
According to the statement, government forces launched a broad assault along three axes on the Al-Barh front and retook positions in the Al-Kadhah area west of Taiz, while consolidating new positions in southern Hodeidah province, strengthening their position in strategically important areas of western Yemen.
In Taiz, government forces also said they had thwarted a Houthi infiltration attempt on the Al-Dhubab front west of the province. The fighting killed or wounded more than 20 Houthi fighters, according to the government forces, which also said military vehicles and equipment had been destroyed or damaged.
The ground operations were accompanied by air strikes. The Yemeni army said warplanes targeted Houthi positions in Al-Barh, west of Taiz, and in southern Hodeidah, as well as positions on the western outskirts of Marib province in central Yemen.
The strikes also targeted Houthi positions and gatherings in Al-Labanat, Al-Alam and the provincial centre of Al-Jawf, where government forces said they inflicted heavy losses on the group and damaged its military positions.
The developments followed a government announcement on Saturday that its forces had made further advances on several Taiz and Hodeidah fronts and captured dozens of Houthi fighters, underscoring the continuation of offensive operations as government forces seek to exploit the latest escalation to improve their positions along the front lines.
The renewed fighting comes as several Yemeni fronts have seen a military escalation since July 2026, with reciprocal attacks intensifying between government forces and the Houthis after a period of relative calm that had prevailed across much of the country since a United Nations-brokered truce took effect in April 2022.
The fighting in Taiz and Hodeidah is particularly significant because of the provinces’ geography. Taiz is one of the main areas of contact between government and Houthi forces, while Hodeidah lies on the Red Sea coast and contains ports and routes of strategic importance.
The successive government announcements of positions being retaken or consolidated and infiltration attempts being thwarted point to mounting military pressure on the Houthis across several fronts, although the battlefield remains fluid in a prolonged and complex war.
The latest escalation also threatens Yemen’s fragile political and humanitarian situation, with military operations returning to several fronts after years in which the intensity of fighting had fallen significantly from the most violent phases of the war.
The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and large parts of northern and western Yemen since September 2014, while the internationally recognised government and allied forces control large areas of the south, east and west, leaving the country divided militarily and politically after more than a decade of conflict.