Yemen gov’t forces advance in Taiz as Houthis claim attack on Saudi Arabia

What the report says

Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces have pushed forward in western Taiz after repelling a Houthi offensive, according to Al Jazeera reporting from Taiz. The outlet said the advance came as clashes intensified in the southwestern province, with government-aligned forces retaking positions and receiving air support against Houthi gatherings in western frontline areas near Mocha and Dhubab.

Al Jazeera also reported that the Houthis, who call themselves Ansar Allah, announced strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia using ballistic missiles and drones. In their statement, the group said it had hit military and infrastructure sites, including facilities at King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, and described the attacks as retaliation for Saudi air raids in Yemen. Saudi Arabia had not immediately commented on the claims, while civil defence alerts for Abha and the Khamis Mushait area were later lifted.

The fighting is part of a broader escalation in Yemen’s long-running civil war, which intensified again in July and has threatened the UN-brokered truce that helped curb large-scale violence in 2022. Al Jazeera noted that recent clashes have spread beyond Yemen’s borders and raised concern over strategic waterways and coastal areas, including the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The International Organization for Migration said the latest violence has displaced nearly 86,000 people in recent weeks, with more than 2,000 reaching Djibouti. The reported moves on the ground matter because they signal both renewed battlefield pressure in western Yemen and wider regional spillover linked to the Red Sea conflict.