Yemen campaign announced as control of Dhubab remains disputed
The internationally recognised government says it has ordered a campaign to retake Houthi-held territory. The Houthis deny government forces have regained Dhubab district.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government has announced a military campaign to retake territory held by the Houthis, escalating a conflict that has intensified since a fragile truce collapsed in July. Government leader Rashad al-Alimi said forces had been instructed to carry out an approved plan to restore state authority.
Government forces said on Monday they had regained Dhubab district on the western coast, near the Bab al-Mandab strait. The Houthis denied the claim, and control of the district has not been independently established.
The government army reported operations in Saada, al-Jawf and Taiz, as well as along the western coast. It claimed 1,747 Houthi fighters had been “neutralised” and 364 military and logistical vehicles destroyed or disabled. Those figures have not been independently verified.
Fighting has also been reported around Marib and Taiz. A military source told Al Jazeera that government forces attacked Houthi positions near Marib, alongside air strikes. Reuters and AFP cited sources reporting Houthi advances near Taiz and disruption to a supply route linking the city with Aden.
Yemen’s foreign minister has appealed for international support. The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and much of the country’s populous northwest since 2014; Saudi Arabia intervened the following year in support of the government. The latest fighting has displaced more than 100,000 people since July, according to the source report.
