Fighting intensifies across Yemen as humanitarian crisis deepens

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that fighting has intensified in several parts of Yemen as clashes between government-aligned forces and Houthi fighters spread across Lahij, Taiz, al-Jawf and Marib. The article says eight soldiers loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government were killed on the al-Maqatirah front in Lahij, while government forces in Taiz said they killed 12 Houthi fighters in al-Aqroud and repelled further attacks on other fronts around the city.

The report says the latest escalation follows recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea coast, prompting a counteroffensive by government forces backed by Saudi Arabia. It notes that the government has launched an operation called “Dawn of Yemen” to try to retake Houthi-held territory, including Sanaa, which the group seized in 2014. The article also describes continued use of artillery, drone strikes and coalition air power in the fighting, and says the Houthis claimed to have downed a Saudi drone and an Apache helicopter, while Saudi authorities said a helicopter crash in Najran was caused by a technical fault.

Al Jazeera highlights growing civilian hardship, citing humanitarian agencies that say more than 233,000 people have been displaced since the escalation, including a large number in Taiz. The World Health Organization warned that Taiz city is increasingly cut off, with hospitals short of fuel, surgical materials, oxygen and medicine as cholera spreads.

The report adds that the wider conflict is affecting movement beyond Yemen, with the UN refugee agency saying thousands of people have fled to Djibouti and Somalia, where health workers are responding to cholera cases at a camp in Djibouti.