Yemeni forces launch counteroffensive against Houthis, vow to retake Sanaa

Bid to take Sanaa comes as fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthis intensify in provinces of al-Bayda and al-Jawf.

Yemen fighting escalates as gov’t forces launch air strikes on Houthi targets

Forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government have launched counterattacks against the Houthi rebels, with officials saying they aim to recapture the capital, Sanaa, more than a decade after the Iran-backed Houthis seized it.

Major-General Samir Al-Sabri, Yemen’s deputy defence minister, said in remarks broadcast on state television on Monday that “the decision has been made to retake Sanaa”.

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The announcement came as fighting intensified in the provinces of al-Bayda and al-Jawf, seen as the main gateway to the capital. The Houthis said seven people were killed in a strike on a prison in al-Hazm in al-Jawf.

The renewed hostilities mark one of the most serious escalations since a United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 halted large-scale fighting in a war that began after the Houthis took Sanaa in 2014. The capture of the capital prompted a Saudi-led military intervention the following year.

Diplomats had hoped the truce in 2022 would evolve into a durable political settlement, but those efforts have faltered amid regional tensions triggered by the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

Fighting in Yemen resumed in July, when government forces struck the Houthi-controlled airport in Sanaa, blocking the landing of an aircraft from Iran. Then last week, the Houthis launched a major offensive, trying to advance through western Taiz and southern Hodeidah, towards the port city of al-Makha and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.

Earlier, the Houthis had declared a blockade against Saudi vessels transiting the waterway.

That strait is a vital corridor for shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It has taken on new significance for Saudi oil exports since Iran began restricting passage through the Strait of Hormuz at the outset of the US and Israel’s war on the country.

Ahmed al-Shalafi, Al Jazeera’s Yemen affairs editor, said Yemeni government forces appear “to have absorbed the initial shock” of the rebel offensive “and expanded the fighting across several fronts, partly to stretch Houthi forces and increase pressure on them”.

He said the fighting was mainly concentrated west of Taiz and south of Hodeidah on Thursday, but has now spread to the provinces of al-Dhalea, Marib, al-Jawf and al-Bayda.

“Al-Jawf is particularly important because it borders Saudi Arabia and connects towards Saada, the Houthis’ main stronghold,” he said. “Al-Bayda is strategically significant because it lies at the centre of Yemen and connects eight governorates – four in the north and four in the south.”

The fighting has resulted in hundreds of casualties.

The World Health Organization said on Monday that nearly 900 people have been killed or wounded since Thursday, with the majority in Taiz and along the western coast. It said an estimated 21,000 people – roughly 3,000 families – have been displaced from Taiz alone.

Health officials say the casualty count is expected to rise further.

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, claimed sweeping gains against the Houthis on Monday, crediting government forces with advances in al-Jawf, al-Bayda, Taiz and Hodeidah.

“Our armed forces will continue to carry out their constitutional duty until state institutions are restored and their authority extends over the entire territory of Yemen,” al-Alimi said in a statement. He accused the Houthis of choosing escalation over peace, warning that the group would bear full responsibility for the consequences of its actions.

Majid al-Nuzaili, a spokesman for Yemen’s government-aligned forces, said on Monday that the objective of the campaign was to “liberate Yemen from the grip” of the Houthis “and restore Sanaa as a capital for all Yemenis”.

He also warned civilians to avoid several major roads leading into Sanaa, saying the alert applies to routes connecting the capital with Marib and al-Jawf, including roads through Nihm, Sirwah, Mahliyah and al-Hazm.

The media centre of the Yemeni government-aligned forces reported carrying out several air attacks against Houthi positions west of Taiz on Tuesday. Earlier, they had claimed attacks on Yatma in al-Jawf and said their forces were “engaged in intensive battles” against the Houthis in the province.

The media centre said Yemeni government-aligned forces had also advanced to the outskirts of Dhi Na’im district in al-Bayda.

For their part, the Houthis said they repelled a large-scale advance by Saudi-backed forces towards the al-Labanat mountains in Yemen’s al-Jawf province.

In a post on X, Mohammed al-Farah, a member of the Houthi political bureau, claimed dozens of fighters were killed or wounded and that Houthi forces also targeted reinforcements in al-Jawf with several ballistic missiles.

He said the strikes destroyed or damaged dozens of vehicles and armoured vehicles, and claimed that commanders were among those killed or wounded.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims by the Houthis or the Yemeni government.

在也门政府军与胡塞武装在贝达省和焦夫省的战斗愈演愈烈之际，夺取萨那的行动也随之展开。

也门战事升级，政府军对胡塞武装目标发动空袭

效忠也门国际公认政府的部队对胡塞武装发动了反击，官员们表示，他们的目标是夺回首都萨那。十多年前，伊朗支持的胡塞武装占领了萨那。

也门国防部副部长萨米尔·萨布里少将在周一国家电视台播出的讲话中表示，“已经决定收复萨那”。

胡塞武装指责沙特阿拉伯在也门监狱空袭中造成七人死亡（共四条记录，此为第一条）

也门战事升级，各方势力争夺曼德海峡（共4条记录，此为第2条）

列表 3/4 “令人心碎”：也门疫苗短缺引发数百万儿童担忧

也门政府军对胡塞武装目标发动空袭（共4个目标，此为第4个）。

就在此时，被视为通往首都主要门户的贝达省和焦夫省的战斗愈演愈烈。胡塞武装称，在焦夫省哈兹姆镇的一座监狱遭到袭击，造成7人死亡。

此次重新爆发的敌对行动标志着自2022年联合国斡旋达成停火协议以来，局势最严重的升级之一。该停火协议停止了大规模战斗，这场战争始于2014年胡塞武装占领萨那之后。首都的陷落促使沙特阿拉伯领导的联军在次年进行了军事干预。

外交官们曾希望 2022 年的停火能够发展成为持久的政治解决方案，但由于美国和以色列对伊朗发动的战争引发了地区紧张局势，这些努力已经陷入僵局。

也门战事于7月重燃，当时政府军袭击了胡塞武装控制的萨那机场，阻止了一架伊朗飞机降落。上周，胡塞武装发动大规模攻势，试图穿过塔伊兹西部和荷台达南部，向红海港口城市麦哈和曼德海峡推进。

此前，胡塞武装曾宣布封锁沙特船只通过该水道。

霍尔木兹海峡是红海和亚丁湾之间航运的重要通道。自美国和以色列对伊朗发动战争以来，伊朗开始限制通过霍尔木兹海峡的船只通行，这条海峡对沙特阿拉伯的石油出口具有了新的意义。

半岛电视台也门事务编辑艾哈迈德·沙拉菲表示，也门政府军似乎“已经承受住了”叛军攻势的“最初冲击”，并将战斗扩大到多个战线，“部分原因是想拉开胡塞武装的兵力，加大对他们的压力”。

他表示，周四战斗主要集中在塔伊兹以西和荷台达以南，但现在已经蔓延到达利阿省、马里卜省、焦夫省和贝达省。

他说：“焦夫省尤为重要，因为它与沙特阿拉伯接壤，并通往胡塞武装的主要据点萨达省。贝达省具有重要的战略意义，因为它位于也门中部，连接着八个省——北部四个省和南部四个省。”

战斗已造成数百人伤亡。

世界卫生组织周一表示，自周四以来，已有近900人伤亡，其中大部分伤亡发生在塔伊兹及其西部沿海地区。世卫组织称，仅塔伊兹一地就有约2.1万人（约3000个家庭）流离失所。

卫生官员表示，预计死亡人数还会进一步上升。

也门沙特支持的总统领导委员会主席拉沙德·阿利米周一声称，政府军在对胡塞武装的战斗中取得了重大胜利，并称赞政府军在焦夫、贝达、塔伊兹和荷台达等地取得了进展。

阿利米在一份声明中表示：“我们的武装部队将继续履行宪法赋予的职责，直至国家机构恢复正常运作，其权威覆盖也门全境。”他指责胡塞武装选择升级冲突而非和平，并警告称该组织将为其行为的后果承担全部责任。

也门政府军发言人马吉德·努扎伊利周一表示，此次战役的目标是“将也门从胡塞武装的控制下解放出来”，“并将萨那恢复为所有也门人的首都”。

他还警告平民避开通往萨那的几条主要道路，称该警报适用于连接首都与马里卜和焦夫的道路，包括途经尼赫姆、锡尔瓦、马赫利亚和哈兹姆的道路。

也门政府军媒体中心周二报道称，他们对塔伊兹以西的胡塞武装阵地发动了多次空袭。此前，他们声称对焦夫省的亚特马发动了袭击，并表示其部队正在该省与胡塞武装“展开激烈战斗”。

媒体中心称，也门政府军已推进至贝达省迪纳伊姆区郊区。

胡塞武装方面则表示，他们击退了沙特支持的部队向也门焦夫省拉巴纳特山脉的大规模推进。

在 X 网站上，胡塞武装政治局成员穆罕默德·法拉赫 (Mohammed al-Farah) 发帖称，数十名战士被杀或受伤，胡塞武装还用几枚弹道导弹袭击了焦夫省的增援部队。

他说，空袭摧毁或损坏了数十辆汽车和装甲车，并声称指挥官也在伤亡人员之列。

半岛电视台无法独立核实胡塞武装或也门政府的说法。