Yemen government forces launch counteroffensive against Houthis
Government officials say the campaign aims to retake Sanaa as fighting intensifies across several provinces, with nearly 900 people reported killed or wounded since Thursday.
Forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government have launched a counteroffensive against the Houthis, with officials declaring the recapture of Sanaa as the campaign’s objective.
The escalation is concentrated in al-Bayda and al-Jawf, with fighting and reported air strikes also extending to Taiz, Hodeidah, al-Dhalea and Marib. Government-aligned forces have claimed advances in several provinces, while the Houthis say they repelled an advance in al-Jawf.
The World Health Organization said nearly 900 people had been killed or wounded since Thursday, with most casualties reported in Taiz and along the western coast. About 21,000 people, or roughly 3,000 families, have been displaced from Taiz, according to the agency.
The Houthis said seven people were killed in an alleged strike on a prison in al-Hazm, al-Jawf. Houthi officials also claimed that government-aligned fighters were killed or wounded and that vehicles and armoured vehicles were damaged in missile strikes.
Al Jazeera, the source institution, said it could not independently verify claims by either side about battlefield gains, casualties, strikes or damaged equipment. The renewed fighting marks a major escalation since a United Nations-brokered truce halted large-scale hostilities in 2022.
The Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led intervention the following year. Diplomatic efforts to turn the 2022 truce into a lasting political settlement have since faltered.
