Yemen government strikes Houthi positions in Taiz
Theo Al Jazeera
Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government say they carried out nine airstrikes on Houthi military positions and equipment in Taiz province. The strikes came as fighting continued near Taiz and a rights group accused the Houthis of killing five civilians, including a five-year-old girl, as regional tensions and attacks on Saudi Arabia escalate.
Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government say they have carried out a series of airstrikes targeting Houthi military positions and equipment in southwestern Yemen.
According to a government statement, a total of nine airstrikes were carried out in Taiz province on Tuesday, including five in Dhubab district and four in al-Masrakh district.
The Taiz Military Axis Media Center, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Defense, said fighting is continuing between government forces and the Houthis at al-Shaqab, south of Taiz.
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms on the same day accused the Houthis of killing at least five civilians, including a five-year-old girl, in Taiz over the previous 24 hours and wounding 17 others.
The organization accused the Houthis of shelling residential areas, damaging at least seven homes. It also said the group fired more than 180 artillery shells across Taiz in the preceding 24 hours.
The war in Yemen erupted in 2014 when the Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for "Supporters of God"), seized the capital Sanaa and forced the government to leave.
A Saudi Arabia-led international military coalition intervened in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government, leading to years of fighting between the parties.
A UN-backed ceasefire in 2022 ended most of the fighting, but tensions have remained high in Yemen since the Iran-aligned Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi ports and shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait in July.
In September, the Houthis launched a lightning ground offensive on Mocha, pushing forces loyal to the Yemeni government out of the strategic port city. That same month, the group's forces swept through and seized territory along the western coast and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, including the strategically located island of Mayyun in the strait.
As fighting in Yemen continues to rage, International Committee of the Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric warned that civilians across the Middle East are bearing the heavy consequences of escalating conflicts and called on all parties to de-escalate.
"Civilians are paying an unacceptable price for military operations in the Middle East," Spoljaric said in a statement.
"In Yemen, the scale of death, displacement and damage to civilian infrastructure, including in Aden and Sanaa, is rising at an alarming rate. Across the Middle East, civilian infrastructure has been repeatedly attacked and many lives have been lost," she said.
According to the United Nations, at least 46 civilians have been killed and more than 130 others wounded in Yemen since August, many of them children.
According to the UN migration agency (IOM), more than 200,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since September.
As fighting in Yemen escalates, the Houthis have carried out a series of attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities. At least 14 people were killed in separate Houthi missile attacks on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh over the weekend, drawing widespread international condemnation.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister pledged that the kingdom would have a "serious response" to the attacks.
Several airlines have canceled flights to Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries in response to the Houthi attacks, including Qatar Airways and Emirates, the flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Tuesday about regional issues. Merz told MBS that Iran must engage in serious negotiations and accused Tehran of destabilizing the region.
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi. Abdelatty said in a post on X that "Gulf security is an inseparable part of Egypt's national security."
Abdelatty also spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi and called for an immediate end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Although Tehran provides significant financial and military support to the Houthis, some analysts say Iran has little influence over the group.
