Yemen government claims recapture of Hais district as fighting intensifies
The internationally recognised government says its forces retook Hais and captured Houthi fighters, as clashes in Taiz leave more than 60 people dead and displace about 1,800 families.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government says its forces have recaptured Hais district south of Hodeidah, amid intensified fighting with Houthi forces across Taiz, Hodeidah and the western Red Sea coast.
Hais links Hodeidah, Taiz and Ibb provinces. Yemen’s military also claimed that dozens of Houthi fighters were captured during fighting in nearby al-Jarahi, where government forces later launched a counteroffensive.
The latest clashes follow tit-for-tat attacks that began last week. Government forces reportedly carried out air and ground strikes on Houthi positions in Taiz, Lahj and al-Jarahi, while Yemeni media said drones targeted Houthi reinforcements south of al-Jarahi.
The fighting has imposed a heavy civilian cost. AFP reported that more than 60 people, including civilians, were killed in Taiz on Saturday. Yemen’s state news agency Saba’a reported that shelling on the Taiz–Aden road killed four civilians and injured nine others.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said about 1,800 families had been displaced over two days as the fighting escalated. The battlefield claims and reported casualty figures have not been independently verified in the source material.
Presidential Leadership Council chairman Rashad al-Alimi said Yemen’s armed forces could restore control over the country’s territory and warned that any Houthi movement towards the Bab al-Mandeb strait would face heavy losses.
