Fierce Fighting Rages Across Yemen as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

Fighting between Yemen's government forces and Houthi fighters has intensified across multiple fronts as the country's humanitarian crisis continues to deteriorate.

Tensions have risen sharply since the Houthis — the armed movement also known as Ansar Allah — seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast from forces loyal to the internationally recognized government last month. In response, Saudi-backed government forces have launched a counteroffensive and a campaign dubbed "Yemen Dawn" aimed at retaking Houthi-held territory, including the capital Sanaa, which the group has controlled since 2014.

In the latest developments, eight soldiers loyal to the internationally recognized government were killed in heavy clashes on the al-Maqatirah front in Lahij province, according to a Saturday statement from the government-affiliated Tur al-Bahah military axis. In Taiz province, government forces said they killed 12 Houthi fighters in al-Aqroud after days of fighting on the outskirts of Taiz city, where they claimed to have repelled Houthi advances and inflicted heavy losses on the group.

Also in Taiz, government forces said they broke up a Houthi attack on the al-Shaqab front, while the government-aligned Homeland Shield Forces reported using a drone to destroy a Houthi supply vehicle in al-Wazziyah. The Southern Giants Brigades also said it carried out precision airstrikes on Houthi positions in al-Madaribah, near the Lahij border.

Meanwhile, government forces and allied Popular Resistance fighters continued to press their campaign in al-Jawf and Marib. Military officials said artillery and drones struck Houthi military positions, barracks and troop concentrations in al-Jawf, while coalition aircraft bombed the group's command centers and supply depots. Government artillery and missile units also targeted Houthi front lines in Marib.

Saudi helicopter crashes

In the air war, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group's air defenses shot down a Saudi reconnaissance drone over Hajjah province. He identified the aircraft as a Turkish-made Lentatek Karayel and said it was the fourth of its kind brought down since the latest escalation began. The Houthis also claimed to have shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter in the border province of Najran.

Colonel Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in Najran due to a technical fault, killing two crew members. Houthi media also reported 10 Saudi airstrikes on targets in Saada province.

Off the coast of al-Mukalla, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency reported that at least seven gunmen in a small boat attacked a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker. The attackers fired two shots at the vessel before its onboard security team fired two warning shots, forcing them to turn away and withdraw.

Humanitarian crisis worsens

The human toll of the conflict meanwhile continues to mount, with humanitarian agencies warning that conditions for civilians are getting worse.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 233,000 people have been displaced since fighting escalated in Yemen, including about 121,000 in Taiz province alone. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned that Taiz city is effectively isolated, with 12 hospitals holding only four days' worth of fuel reserves, no surgical supplies and facing severe shortages of oxygen and medicine amid a cholera outbreak.

The displacement crisis has spilled into East Africa, where the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) confirmed that more than 4,000 refugees have reached the region — 3,800 in Djibouti and about 200 in Somalia. UNHCR also said medical staff are treating a cholera outbreak at Djibouti's Markazi camp, where 31 cases and one death have been recorded.