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181 operations, multiple fronts
The Yemeni army said it launched 181 military operations in the past 24 hours against Houthi positions and targets across several governorates, killing and injuring dozens of the group’s members.
“181 military operations against Houthi positions and targets across several governorates”
Military spokesman Col. Majid Abdullah Al-Nuzaili said the attacks targeted Houthi military sites and sources of fire in Taiz, Marib, Abyan, Al-Dhalea and Al-Hudaydah, and destroyed "dozens of military equipment, vehicles and weapons depots".
Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis launched a wave of missiles and drones at Yemen’s Marib city and the coastal city of al-Makha (Mocha) overnight, killing several people, with an attack on Sunday hitting the outskirts of al-Makha and another striking a main road.
State media and the director of the al-Makha airport said four people were killed and eight were injured in the overnight attacks, while Marib’s government media office said six ballistic missiles and four drones targeted residential neighbourhoods on Saturday evening.
The reports placed the fighting against a backdrop of a relative lull since April 2022 in a war that began nearly 12 years ago, after the Houthis controlled the capital Sanaa and other cities and provinces since September 2014.
Deaths, strikes, and denials
Al Jazeera said an attack on Sunday hit the outskirts of al-Makha, a port city on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, while another struck a main road in the city, and it cited state media and the director of the al-Makha airport for casualty figures.
It reported that Marib’s government media office said six ballistic missiles and four drones targeted residential neighbourhoods in the city on Saturday evening, wounding four people and causing damage to homes and civilian infrastructure.
The Houthis said four members were killed, but did not provide further details on the circumstances of their deaths, as Al Jazeera described the competing casualty accounts.
In parallel, the Yemeni army’s operations were framed by the Saudi Gazette as targeting Houthi military sites and sources of fire, with the spokesman saying the attacks destroyed "dozens of military equipment, vehicles and weapons depots".
The Saudi Gazette also said Al-Nuzaili did not provide a specific casualty figure for the operations, even as it said dozens of fighters were killed or wounded.
Ports, livelihoods, and escalation
Beyond the immediate strikes, the reports tied the fighting to disruption of port activity, with Al Jazeera saying port operations in al-Makha were already paused due to several days of strikes.
“Port operations in al-Makha were already paused due to several days of strikes”
Al Jazeera quoted Abdulmalik al-Sharabi, the director general of the government-controlled facility, saying on Saturday that port operations were paused, while it also described the broader pattern of renewed fighting in recent weeks.
Vietnam.vn reported that on August 15 government forces’ continuous missile and drone attacks by the Houthis disrupted Mocha port operations on the Red Sea and caused direct damages totaling roughly 16 million dollars.
It added that Mocha port officials said Houthi attacks over the past week resulted in the deaths of seven people, including four port security personnel, and inflicted substantial damage to these facilities.
The same Vietnam.vn report said the Mocha port closure led to the loss of livelihoods for about 1,300 workers, and it placed the escalation alongside an August 13 United Nations Security Council open meeting where representatives warned that new developments could undermine the truce agreement in place since early April 2022.