The key facts

  • Airstrikes and fighting reported on fronts in the provinces of Ibb, Taiz and Lahj
  • Eight civilians, including children, were killed or wounded in a Houthi rocket strike in the Hayfan area
  • Since October 5, government forces have been conducting Operation Dawn of Yemen to retake Sanaa

Fighting on several fronts

On November 5, reports emerged of airstrikes and clashes between Yemeni government forces and the Houthis on several fronts at once, with casualties among fighters and civilians. According to Yemeni media, cited by Anadolu, an airstrike destroyed a Houthi rocket launcher on Jabal Baadan in Ibb province — the second such strike in the province in less than 24 hours. Strikes on Houthi positions were also reported on the outskirts of the villages of al-Sarari and Dhi al-Bara, southeast of Jabal Sabr in Taiz province.

The Lahj front and casualties

Aden TV reported intense ongoing fighting in the districts of Maqatira, al-Sawala and al-Zariq on the Lahj front. According to the channel, aircraft struck Houthi reinforcements in Naqil al-Saha, while forces of the Fourth Military Region destroyed a Houthi vehicle mounting a 23mm anti-aircraft gun on the Maqatira front. Dozens of killed and wounded Houthi fighters were taken to the Khalifa hospital in the city of Turba. Separately, the channel reported that eight civilians, including children, were killed or wounded in a Houthi rocket strike on the al-Asawir district in the Hayfan district of Taiz province. This information comes from the TV channels and has not yet been confirmed by independent sources.

Scale of the operation and context

According to the Yemeni armed forces, they carried out 322 operations in which 64 Houthi fighters were killed and 16 military vehicles were put out of action. Since October 5, government forces have been conducting Operation Dawn of Yemen, aimed at restoring control over state institutions and the capital, Sanaa. Fighting between the sides resumed in July: according to UN figures cited by Anadolu, thousands of people have been killed or wounded and more than 250,000 forced to flee their homes. This ended the relative calm that had lasted since April 2022 and worsened the humanitarian crisis. The civil war in Yemen has been going on since September 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and a number of provinces, and in March 2015 a Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in support of the internationally recognized government.