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Taiz and Hodeidah clashes
Intense clashes between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi militia erupted on the western coast fronts, with government defenses shooting down several drones launched by the militia in Taiz and the western coast.
“The Houthi militia shelled the cities of Taiz and Hodeidah with ten ballistic missiles”
The fighting included Houthi shelling of Taiz and Hodeidah with ten ballistic missiles, according to the Aajil briefing, as the Yemeni government forces said their air defenses shot down several drones in Taiz Governorate and the western coast.
In Taiz, Abdullah Saeed, 47, fled his home in the Maqbanah district west of Taiz in 2022 and later settled in al-Rahabah camp, but he told Al Jazeera that “Fighting erupted suddenly at night.”
Saeed said that although he was far from the battlefield, “in the morning, we were shocked to see the frontlines near our camp,” prompting him and hundreds of other families to flee again as the Houthis advanced toward al-Rahabah.
Competing claims and voices
Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis launched an offensive against government forces on the western fronts of Taiz governorate early Thursday morning using missiles and drones before initiating ground fighting described as the fiercest since 2022.
Yahiya Lutf, a pro-government fighter in Jabal Habashi district, confirmed that the Houthis launched sudden attacks across different fronts in western Taiz governorate but claimed that government forces had retaken several areas, telling Al Jazeera, “The Houthis launched these attacks attempting to cut the main road between Taiz city and the Red Sea coast, but they failed.”
The Yemeni government’s account of the escalation also included a displacement figure, with the Yemeni government announcing on Friday the displacement of 917 families due to the military escalation in western Taiz since dawn Thursday, according to Anadolu.
That same Anadolu framing warned that “the humanitarian situation of the displaced is extremely difficult,” citing a severe lack of shelter, emergency relief materials, food shortages, and access to clean drinking water.
Humanitarian cost and stakes
As the clashes continued across Taiz and Hodeidah, the Yemeni government said the escalation triggered forced displacement and evacuation of residents in Qabbanah district and neighboring areas, especially Jabal Habashi district, and it warned that the number of displaced could rise amid the possibility of new waves of displacement.
“the statement warned of extremely difficult humanitarian conditions for displaced families”
The statement issued by the office of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in Taiz said displacement included areas such as Uzal al-Yaman, Al-Abdullah, Al-Ashlama and Al-Jab Camp in the Qabbanah district, and it warned of extremely difficult humanitarian conditions for displaced families.
In Hodeidah Governorate, the Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps said 57 families totaling about 400 people were displaced from villages in the Hais, al-Jrahi, and Jabal Ras districts due to shelling that hit populated areas, according to Bawwabat al-Shuruq.
The Executive Unit in Hodeidah called for urgent humanitarian intervention to provide shelter, reception and accommodation materials, food, water, and sanitation services, with a DPA-sourced account describing government forces retaking parts of Jabal al-Naʿman and its surroundings in Taiz.