Yemeni government launches air strikes on Houthi positions

What the report says

Forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government said they carried out nine air strikes on Houthi positions and military equipment in the country’s southwest on Tuesday, focusing on areas in Taiz governorate. According to the government, five strikes hit Dhubab district and four targeted al-Masrakh district. A military media outlet also said fighting was continuing between government forces and the Houthis in al-Shaqab, south of Taiz.

The Al Jazeera report also cited the Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedom, which accused the Houthis of killing at least five civilians in Taiz over the previous 24 hours, including a five-year-old girl, and injuring 17 others. The rights group said residential areas were shelled and homes damaged, and claimed that more than 180 projectiles were fired across Taiz during that period. The allegations were not independently verified in the article.

The clashes come against the backdrop of Yemen’s long-running war, which began in 2014 and has involved the Houthis, the government, and a Saudi-led coalition. Al Jazeera noted that a UN-backed truce in 2022 reduced large-scale fighting, but violence has recently intensified again, with renewed combat in the west and mounting civilian harm.

The article added broader context from humanitarian and regional officials, including warnings from the Red Cross and UN agencies about rising civilian casualties and displacement across Yemen. It also referenced recent Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as part of the wider escalation in the conflict.