Government forces expand their operations and the Houthis face simultaneous fronts

The Yemeni government forces continued their military operations within the “Yemen Dawn” operation on several fronts, targeting sites, gatherings, and reinforcements of the Houthi group in the governorates of Ma’rib, Al-Jawf, Taiz, Hajjah, and Al-Dhalea, in conjunction with the continuation of ground confrontations, confronting attacks, and attempts to advance launched by the group in a number of sectors.

The official spokesman for the armed forces, Colonel Majid Al-Nuzaili, announced that 874 targeting operations had been carried out during the past hours, including 29 air strikes carried out by warplanes, 39 strikes by drones, 62 attacks with rocket launchers, in addition to 744 field artillery strikes, targeting sites, gatherings, reinforcements, fortifications, sources of the Houthi group’s fire, and its combat means.

The Armed Forces website quoted Al-Nuzaili as saying that initial field reports indicated that about 190 Houthi leaders and members were killed or wounded, in addition to the destruction and damage of about 130 combat vehicles and means, as a result of air and fire strikes carried out by government forces during the same period.

In Al-Jawf Governorate, warplanes targeted a Houthi tank, while other air strikes targeted the group's sites and combat vehicles in the vicinity of Jabal Han, west of Taiz, and the Dar Al-Sina area on the Al-Shaqab front, south of the governorate. The army published video clips documenting air strikes on Houthi equipment and members in Al-Jawf and Taiz.

In Marib, the artillery of the Third Military District bombed the group's sites, gatherings, and vehicles on the southern front, while drones targeted Houthi gatherings and vehicles on the northern front, in addition to other strikes that targeted developments and fortifications on the southern front.

Military operations also continued on the northern fronts and areas southeast of the city of Al-Hazm in Al-Jawf Governorate, where units from the sixth, seventh, and third military regions, emergency forces, and Homeland Shield participated in confronting the Houthi movements and their offensive attempts, in conjunction with targeting firing sites, gatherings, and combat vehicles.

In Hajjah Governorate, drones carried out strikes targeting sniper positions and gatherings of the group’s members in the Hiran sector, as part of operations targeting its positions and fortifications on a number of fronts.

In the west of Lahj Governorate (southwest), the Mudaraba and Ras al-Ara fronts are witnessing violent battles and accelerating military movements, especially in the areas of Al-Mujarabah, Al-Shatin, and Al-Sarih Junction. The Southern Giants Forces and the National Shield Forces announced that, with the support of the Al-Sabiha tribesmen, they confronted massive Houthi attacks on the Al-Bukra, Al-Ruwais, and Al-Tarreya fronts, and carried out counterattacks.

These operations, according to military sources, resulted in the destruction of the group's combat vehicles, while the Giants Brigades published a video clip documenting the targeting of Houthi vehicles and elements on the fighting fronts in Lahj Governorate.

In Al-Maqtara District, northwest of Lahj, Houthi media reported that areas under the group’s control were exposed to a series of air strikes on Wednesday, while government forces announced the targeting and destruction of Houthi combat vehicles and vehicles on the same front, in an extension of the confrontations taking place in areas adjacent to the districts southwest of Taiz.

These confrontations are accompanied by the deterioration of the humanitarian conditions and the expansion of the displacement movement, with the clashes approaching the population centers in Mudaraba, Al-Maqtara, and the vicinity of Tur Al-Baha.

Families from the Al-Sarih area and the seam areas began to leave their homes towards the city of Aden and safer areas, amid fears of a widening wave of displacement if the battles spread to new residential areas.

In Taiz, confrontations continued between government forces and the popular resistance on the one hand, and the Houthis on the other hand, on several fronts, especially Al Shaqab and Al Aqroud, where government forces are engaged in continuous battles for the sixty-first day in a row, according to military sources.

The air strikes included the group's sites in the vicinity of Mount Han, west of the city, and the Dar Al Sina area on the Al Shaqab front in the south, coinciding with the continuation of clashes and repelling its attacks in the western countryside of the governorate.

Colonel Muwaffaq Al-Sabai, Staff of the Fifth Brigade, Presidential Guard, in the Taiz axis, said that the Houthis failed to achieve a breakthrough in the western countryside of the governorate, despite the human crowds, and the attacks they carried out during more than a month of confrontations, attributing this to the government forces and popular resistance moving to the offensive initiative, and strengthening joint coordination.

In Al-Dhalea Governorate, government forces responded to an attack launched by the Houthi group on its positions on the Hajar front, northwest of the governorate, where clashes broke out at the foot of Jabal Al-Hasha, which ended, according to a military source, with the attackers being forced to retreat and withdraw after incurring human and material losses.

In parallel with the confrontations, units of the Giants Brigades, the Homeland Shield Forces, and the National Resistance continued their operations on the southern and southwestern fronts, where the military spokesman reported regaining positions in some sectors, continuing confrontations, and dealing with Houthi movements in other sectors.

The Shabwa Defense Forces and the military hubs in Al Bayda also continue their combat missions without receiving detailed information about field developments.

A senior Yemeni official revealed that the Houthi militias have lost a large number of foreign leaders who participate in managing their military operations and developing their offensive capabilities targeting all regions.

Walid Al-Qadimi, Minister of State in the Yemeni government, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the air strikes and field attacks led to the killing of influential leaders of foreign nationalities participating in the Houthi militias’ battles, in addition to prominent Houthi leaders whose death the militias have not yet announced, at a time when the militias are facing an increasing decline in their military capabilities and a rift in their ranks.

He added that the air strikes that targeted militia positions, in addition to military operations on various fronts, contributed to weakening their capabilities and inflicting great losses on their leaders, members, and military capabilities, pointing out that foreign leaders who participated in managing operations and targeting the liberated areas and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones suffered impressive losses.

Despite the militias’ attempts to develop some weapons and military technologies, they are facing a state of decline and collapse, according to Al-Qadimi, who pointed out that this comes in conjunction with the increasing awareness of the tribes, sheikhs and citizens of the project led by the militias, and their beginning to refrain from involving their children in confrontations, after the large human losses and the numbers of missing persons whose fates the militias did not reveal.

Al-Qadimi said that the Yemeni forces are waging their confrontations with the militias within a unified command of the fronts through the joint forces, stressing that Operation “Yemen Dawn” is continuing with the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the direct supervision of the Chairman of the Presidential Command Council, and will not stop before achieving its goals.

The Yemeni Minister of State indicated that Yemeni society has become aware of the nature of the Houthi militias’ connection with Iran, and that they represent one of its tools in the region, expressing his belief that large sectors of Yemenis are waiting for salvation from these militias and the restoration of state institutions.

Regarding the external support that the militias receive, he pointed out that the confrontation is not limited to the Houthis alone, given the military and logistical support they receive from external parties, pointing to the importance of Yemeni diplomatic movements in this aspect by addressing countries that facilitate the militia activities or provide them with support, as this represents a violation of diplomatic and political relations and affects the relations of these countries with Yemen.

The Minister’s speech came as the military operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces continue, and the progress being achieved on the ground on a number of fronts, through the intensification of air strikes, drones and artillery attacks against the Houthi group’s positions, movements and reinforcements, in conjunction with the achievement of new field progress in Al-Jawf Governorate, and the continuation of confrontations in a number of axes in the governorates of Taiz, Al-Dhalea and Marib.

Returning to the old Minister of State, he spoke about the Taiz file, saying that “the city represents an important key to achieving victory over the Houthi militias,” noting that the steadfastness of its people reflects the will of the Yemenis to confront the Houthi project, despite the militias’ repeated attempts to break the city militarily, after taking control of the coastal regions, and using various human and military capabilities to achieve this.

He explained that these attempts failed in the face of the steadfastness of the people of Taiz and the government forces, expressing his hope that the next stage will witness military movements from the Yemeni army to break the siege imposed on the city and restore freedom of movement and access to the besieged areas.

Al-Qadimi stopped at what he described as the strange paradox in the Houthi militia’s speech, which speaks of supporting Gaza and solidarity with the Palestinian people, while it continues to besiege its people in the city of Taiz, and deprives them of their most basic rights to movement and life. He explained that the group, which raises slogans of support for the oppressed outside Yemen, practices siege and restrictions on its people, and uses human suffering as a means to pressure them, in a contradiction that reveals the gap between its slogans and its practices on the ground.