Yemen Claims 1,250 Houthi Fighters Hit in Major Sanaa Push
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Majed Abdullah al-Nazili said in a statement that government troops carried out 2,309 “precise and direct” strikes, using warplanes, drones, field artillery, rocket launchers and sniper units. He claimed the barrage broke up Houthi defensive lines, command-and-control centers, frontline positions and supply routes, enabling government forces to move forward. More than 460 military vehicles and other pieces of equipment were also destroyed or damaged, he said.
In the southwestern province of Taiz, government forces kept up airstrikes and ambushes against Houthi units and their reinforcements, according to the statement. Al-Nazili accused the Houthis of hitting civilian infrastructure and residential neighborhoods there. He also urged residents of Houthi-held areas to keep their children away from recruitment drives and military sites, and repeated an amnesty offered by Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi to fighters who lay down their arms.
The army said it had captured five Houthi commanders west of Taiz province, among them senior commander Akram Amer, who holds the rank of major general.
The capture was first announced Tuesday, when the army said five commanders had been seized on the western front of Taiz city. The 5th Presidential Guard Brigade said its forces carried out the operation but gave no details on how or when it took place. The brigade released a video in which five men identified themselves without stating their roles in the group. Activists described Amer as a senior Houthi commander with the rank of major general, but his rank and position have not been independently confirmed.
The announcement came as fighting between government forces and the Houthis intensified in Taiz, particularly on the western and southern fronts. The Dhubab, Hadharan and Jabal Han fronts west of the city have seen heavy clashes in recent days, and government forces said they had repelled Houthi attacks and infiltration attempts.
On Monday, a Qatar-based satellite news network, citing government-force sources, reported that 81 Houthi fighters had been captured in clashes around Dhubab. That figure has not been independently confirmed.
The western fronts are strategically important because they connect to roads leading into Taiz city, which has endured recurring clashes between the two sides for years.
The government launched “Dawn of Yemen” earlier this month with the aim of retaking Houthi-held territory, including the capital, Sanaa. Government-aligned forces have since announced gains on several fronts, among them the area around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The offensive has the backing of a Saudi-led coalition, which has stepped up air operations against Houthi positions. The coalition said earlier this month that 100 fighter jets took part in one phase of the campaign and later reported that 136 military targets had been destroyed.
The escalation follows renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, including cross-border missile and drone attacks and intensified coalition airstrikes on Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014 and drove the internationally recognized government out of the capital. A Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily on the government’s side in 2015.
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