The key facts

  • Eight Yemeni soldiers were killed on the al-Makatira front in Lahj province, the army said.
  • Earlier on Saturday, Houthi shelling in Taiz, according to the government, killed three civilians, including two women, and wounded five.
  • The escalation since July is the most significant since the UN-brokered truce in force since April 2022.

Deaths of servicemen in Lahj

The Yemeni army announced on Saturday evening the deaths of eight servicemen in the southern province of Lahj amid ongoing fighting with the Houthi group. According to a statement by the Tur al-Bahah military district subordinate to the army, the soldiers were killed on the al-Makatira front. No further details were given in the statement, and no immediate comment came from the Houthis.

Civilian casualties in Taiz

Earlier on Saturday, according to a government agency, Houthi shelling in the neighbouring province of Taiz killed three civilians, including two women, and wounded five more in separate attacks.

Context of the escalation

These events come against the backdrop of a military escalation that began in July and has become, as the outlet notes, the most significant since the period of relative calm following the truce brokered by the UN, which took effect in April 2022. Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since September 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and a number of provinces, prompting the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.