The key facts

  • The Giants Brigades say they destroyed three Houthi launchers ready for launch
  • Yemeni authorities reported 1,322 operations and about 340 enemy fighters put out of action
  • The Houthis did not comment on the claims; since July, according to the UN, more than 250,000 people have been displaced

Statement on the overnight strike

Yemeni pro-government The Giants Brigades announced on Wednesday evening, that they had destroyed three Houthi missile launch systems along with their crews. According to them, the systems were ready for launch at the moment of the strike. The brigades published footage which, they claim, shows the operation, but did not name the location where it was carried out or the number of fighters killed. There was no immediate reaction from the Houthis.

Results of Operation Yemen Dawn

Earlier the same day, the Yemeni armed forces reported 1,322 operations against the Houthis as part of Operation Yemen Dawn: according to their figures, about 340 fighters and commanders were put out of action, and 114 pieces of military equipment were destroyed or damaged. These figures come only from the government forces and were not independently confirmed in the publication.

Context of the conflict

Fighting between government forces and the Houthis resumed in July, breaking a period of relative calm that had held since April 2022. According to UN figures cited by the publication, thousands of people have been killed and wounded in the fighting, and more than 250,000 have been forced to leave their homes, worsening the humanitarian crisis in the country. The civil war in Yemen has been going on since September 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and a number of provinces; in March 2015, a Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened in support of the internationally recognized government.