Yemeni warplanes strike Houthi positions in Taiz for 1st time since July escalation: Army

Mohammed Sameai and Rania Abushamala

Yemeni warplanes entered the fighting against the Houthis on Friday evening, striking the group’s positions in western Taiz province in southwestern Yemen for the first time since the war escalated in July.

“Warplanes belonging to the Yemeni Armed Forces have entered the battle in Taiz,” the army-affiliated Taiz Military Axis said in a statement.

The warplanes provided air support to ground forces and “struck Houthi positions on the Hays front, west of Taiz, for the first time,” it added, without providing further details.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis as of 2015GMT.

Several fronts in Taiz and the neighboring coastal province of Al-Hudaydah, near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, have witnessed fierce fighting between the Yemeni army and the Houthis since early Thursday, leaving people killed and injured on both sides.

Yemen has witnessed a relative lull since April 2022 in a war that began nearly 12 years ago between government forces and the Houthis, who have controlled the capital Sanaa and other cities and provinces since September 2014.

Fighting has resumed in several provinces in recent weeks, including Marib, Al-Jawf, Al-Dhalea and Taiz, as the country continues to face one of the world’s worst humanitarian and economic crises.

A Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognized government supports government forces, while Iran is accused of backing the Houthis. The Houthis announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in July.