Yemen government forces close Al-Houban crossing in Taiz
Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces carried out nearly 500 military operations and killed or wounded 1,540 Houthi rebels over a 24-hour period, according to the Yemeni army, marking a sharp military escalation following the collapse of a 2022 truce. The surge in fighting centers heavily on the contested governorate of Taiz, where government forces shut down a critical crossing connecting al-Houban to Taiz city.
Military Strikes Target Houthi Positions Across Yemen
Military spokesman Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili stated on Friday evening that warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and rocket launchers targeted Houthi positions across various parts of Yemen. Al-Nazili did not report any casualties among government forces. The bulk of the casualties occurred in Taiz governorate, where operations successfully halted a Houthi advance, according to the military.
Contrasting accounts from the Houthi movement and allied outlets present a different assessment of the ground situation. According to Tasnim’s correspondent in Sana’a, Ansarullah fighters took control of the road linking Sana’a and Taiz, severing a primary logistical route for Saudi-backed forces and pushing Taiz toward capture. Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarie claimed that Saudi Arabia launched 94 airstrikes across Yemen over the same 24-hour period, targeting civilian infrastructure in Sana’a, Saada, Taiz, Hajjah, Amran, and Al Bayda, as reported by the Ynet.
The Reuters news agency reported Friday that Saudi Arabia is preparing a broader offensive aimed at breaking the Houthi grip on the coast and securing Red Sea shipping routes. The planned operation, expected in the coming weeks, could mobilize more than 100,000 Yemeni troops overseen by Riyadh and supported by coalition airstrikes, depending on the scale chosen by officials.
Border Crossing Closure and Civilian Toll in Taiz
On Saturday, army media official Ammar al-Sami’i told Al Jazeera that government forces closed the al-Houban crossing in Taiz. The crossing had remained shut for nine years before reopening to civilians in 2024 for humanitarian reasons, serving as a vital link between Houthi-held al-Houban and government-held Taiz city. Sami’i cited security reasons for the shutdown, pointing to a Houthi infiltration attempt via the road, surrounding attacks, and an ongoing military buildup.
The renewed ground fighting has taken a heavy toll on civilians. Anadolu Ajansı reported that at least two civilians, including a 14-day-old infant, were killed and seven others injured Friday in separate shelling incidents across Taiz province. Citing the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms, Anadolu reported that a woman died when a shell struck a residential home in the Al-Turbah area, while a 14-day-old infant named Mohammed Muheeb Saeed Abdo Qassem was brought dead to Al-Thawra General Hospital with head shrapnel wounds from shelling in Al-Dhabab. Local sources told the state-run Saba news agency that separate artillery strikes hit residential neighborhoods in the Old Airport and Wadi al-Qadi areas of central Taiz city, injuring six civilians and damaging homes.
The escalation follows Houthi advances in mid-September that secured the port city of Mocha and key islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, widening a conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people since the 2022 truce collapsed in July.