Yemeni government forces claim 1,860 Houthis ‘neutralised’

What the report says

Yemeni government forces said they have “neutralised” 1,860 Houthi fighters during a broader counter-offensive aimed at taking back territory held by the Iran-aligned rebel group, according to Al Jazeera, citing a post from the government’s army spokesperson on social media. The same post said the forces conducted 2,103 “precise targeting operations” against Houthi military positions across several fronts as part of the “Dawn of Yemen” campaign.

The operation was announced by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, as an effort to reclaim all Houthi-held areas, including the capital, Sanaa, which the Houthis have controlled since 2014. Fighting has recently concentrated near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and around Mocha, a strategically important area on Yemen’s western coast. Al Jazeera reported that government-aligned forces launched an advance there on Tuesday after the Houthis captured Mocha in September.

The Saudi-led coalition also said it struck 82 Houthi military targets in several Yemeni governorates, including Saada, Hodeidah, al-Jawf and Marib. Those reported strikes included missile storage sites, command centres and communications systems. Al Jazeera also said the latest escalation followed Houthi attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha, which Saudi authorities said caused deaths and injuries. The claims from all sides could not be independently verified in the report.