The key facts
- Yemeni army: 835 strikes in 24 hours, ~285 Houthis neutralized, ~190 pieces of equipment destroyed or damaged
- Houthis claimed a ballistic missile strike on Aden, naming the Saudi command post in the Badr camp as the target; the hit was not confirmed
- The offensive began at the start of the month with the aim of retaking Houthi-held areas, including Sanaa, with support from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition
Yemeni army statements
Yemeni government forces said that over the past 24 hours they carried out 835 strikes against Houthi positions and movements as part of the ongoing Operation 'Yemen Dawn'. Army spokesman Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili said on X that the operations were conducted with combat aircraft, drones, field artillery, rocket launchers and sniper units. According to him, the strikes targeted Houthi movements, gatherings and reinforcements, weapons, armored vehicles, firing positions, fortifications and supply routes.
Claimed losses
The military said that about 285 Houthi fighters and commanders were neutralized, and about 190 pieces of military equipment, hardware and drones were destroyed or damaged. The publication contains no independent confirmation of these figures.
Fronts in Taiz and near Marib
In the southwestern province of Taiz, government forces, with the support of local fighters, repelled Houthi attempts to retake positions, according to al-Nuzaili; the Houthis brought in additional troops but failed to achieve tactical objectives. On the northern and eastern fronts west of Marib, armored units, artillery and drones continued to strike Houthi movements, fortifications and weapons systems, limiting their maneuver and force concentration. Operations, according to the spokesman, continue in accordance with operational plans.
Media reports and Houthi statements
Earlier on Wednesday, Yemeni media reported airstrikes on Houthi positions east of the coastal city of Mokha, a missile attack on Aden airport, and renewed fighting west of Taiz. Yemen TV reported airstrikes near Mokha without data on casualties and damage, and also said that the Houthis attacked Aden airport with a ballistic missile; whether the missile hit its target remained unclear. The Houthis themselves claimed responsibility for the missile strike on Aden, saying the target was the Saudi operational command post in the Badr camp. The Al-Jumhuriya TV channel reported heavy fighting between government forces and the Houthis near the old airport and Jabal Khan west of the city of Taiz.
Context
On Tuesday, the Yemeni army reported 744 attacks on Houthi positions over the previous 24 hours, the neutralization of about 200 fighters, and the destruction or damage of 90 pieces of military equipment and other targets. The latest events come against the backdrop of an offensive launched at the start of the month by the internationally recognized Yemeni government with the aim of retaking Houthi-held areas, including the capital Sanaa, with support from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition. The conflict has continued since 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and a number of other provinces, which in March 2015 led to the coalition's intervention on the side of the recognized government. The Houthis control most of northern and western Yemen, while government forces and their allies hold Aden and a significant part of the southern and eastern provinces.
