Houthi attacks on Yemen’s Taiz escalate, triggering new displacement wave

Government-Houthi clashes in Taiz intensify, displacing thousands and threatening vital roadways to the Red Sea coast.

Members of the Houthi security forces sit at a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, August 25, 2026 [Khaled Abdullah/Reuters]

Taiz, Yemen – Abdullah Saeed, 47, fled his home in the Maqbanah district west of Taiz in 2022, leaving everything behind and settling in al-Rahabah camp in the Jabal Habashi area 90km (55 miles) south.

While he and around 300 other families in the camp have since struggled to meet their basic needs, they at least enjoyed a peaceful life far from the frontlines.

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That is, until the battles came to Jabal Habashi . An attack from Yemen’s Houthi rebels early on Thursday targeted the district and other areas in southwest Yemen, with heavy fighting continuing.

As the Houthis advanced towards al-Rahabah, Saeed and hundreds of other families fled once again.

“Fighting erupted suddenly at night. We were far from the battlefield, but in the morning, we were shocked to see the frontlines near our camp. There was no solution but to take our basic belongings and flee,” he told Al Jazeera. “We had a bad experience when we were stuck in the crossfire in 2022, so we didn’t want to experience a similar situation and fled before the battles reached our camp.”

Saeed said it wasn’t just displaced families at his camp who had fled, but also people from neighbouring camps and villages.

“We have fled for the second time, but there are also families who fled for the first time. We are all now in dire need of shelter and basic services,” said Saeed, who is now staying with relatives at another camp for displaced people.

After four years of quiet along Yemen’s frontlines, Saeed had held out the hope that he would soon be able to return to his home in Maqbanah. But now, with all-out war between the Houthis and the Yemeni government looking ever more likely, he would be happy just to be able to get back to al-Rahabah, where he at least had shelter, a source of water and a familiar place.

“I do not support any military side, but I hope the battles stop soon and we manage to return to our camp, as all we need now is stability,” he said.

Sudden Houthi attacks

The Houthis launched an offensive against government forces on the western fronts of Taiz governorate – including positions in Maqbanah district – early Thursday morning, using missiles and drones before initiating ground fighting described as the fiercest since 2022.

The pro-Iranian Houthis managed to advance across several fronts in Maqbanah, Mawzaa and Jabal Habashi districts, triggering a new wave of displacement. Saudi-backed government forces say they are confronting the attacks and have retaken some areas.

Military reinforcements, including fighters and military vehicles, have been arriving for both the government and the Houthis. The fighting has grown fiercer, with dozens fighters killed on both sides.

It’s the latest escalation in Yemen’s more than decade-long conflict, which has intensified in recent months. The conflict began in 2014, when the Houthis launched a coup against Yemen’s government, and then seized much of northwest Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

Since early August, the Houthis have launched deadly missile, drone and ground attacks against government forces across several governorates, including Marib, Taiz, Hodeidah and al-Dhale.

The Houthis have also targeted al-Makha (Mocha) port in an apparent attempt to push government forces out of the southern Red Sea coast, allowing the Houthis to have more control over the key waterway where they have been attacking Saudi shipping.

Government forces have also attacked the Houthis across multiple governorates, reporting dozens of drone strikes against Houthi targets.

The escalating conflict may draw in Saudi Arabia, four years after it last officially conducted airstrikes in Yemen in support of the government.

Yahiya Lutf, a pro-government fighter in Jabal Habashi district, confirmed that the Houthis had launched sudden attacks across different fronts in western Taiz governorate but claimed that government forces have retaken several areas.

“The Houthis launched these attacks attempting to cut the main road between Taiz city and the Red Sea coast, but they failed,” Lutf told Al Jazeera. “Our goal is not only to liberate what they took [on Thursday]; we will press forward beyond that, as our morale is high and we are fully prepared for battle.”

He added that there were casualties on both sides.

“The true outcome of these battles will be clear in the near future,” Lutf said. “I call on those reporting Houthi advances to wait, and I promise them good news.”

Lutf added that troops from various military units are participating in the battles.

The frontlines lie near the main road connecting Taiz city with the Red Sea Coast, which serves as the headquarters for the National Resistance Forces, a government-aligned military faction led by Tareq Saleh, nephew of the late former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

A Houthi source in Sanaa told Al Jazeera that the recent battles are part of the group’s “efforts to break the siege on Yemenis”.

“We are engaged in battle to break the siege on Yemen, especially at sea. This is not just the goal of Ansar Allah [the Houthis], but the desire of all Yemenis,” he said.

The source declined to provide further details, while Houthi media outlets have also refrained from publishing details on the fighting.

Yemeni journalist Odai al-Dokhaini believes the frontlines hold strategic importance as severing the road linking Taiz to al-Makha – as Houthi fighters attempted on Thursday – would impact both cities. The route serves as a vital lifeline for transporting food and goods from al-Makha.

“The Houthis selected these current frontlines for their strategic location,” al-Dokhaini said. “If they succeed in isolating the Red Sea coast fronts, they can begin targeting them individually.”

Yemeni political analyst Abdulsattar al-Shamiri tied the developments to wider events in the region – most notably the US war on Iran.

“This battle cannot be viewed in isolation,” al-Shamiri said. “The Houthis have been pushing to seize more territory along the Red Sea.”

He believes that the attacks are part of a wider strategy by Iran and its allies to project strength, “giving Tehran another point of leverage alongside the Strait of Hormuz”.

塔伊兹的政府军与胡塞武装冲突加剧，导致数千人流离失所，并威胁到通往红海沿岸的重要道路。

2026年8月25日，也门萨那，胡塞武装安全部队成员参加集会。[Khaled Abdullah/路透社]

也门塔伊兹——47 岁的阿卜杜拉·赛义德于 2022 年逃离了他在塔伊兹以西马格巴纳区的家，抛下一切，定居在 90 公里（55 英里）以南的贾巴尔·哈巴什地区的拉哈巴难民营。

虽然他和营地里的其他大约 300 个家庭此后一直在为满足基本需求而努力，但他们至少享受着远离前线的平静生活。

（共3张图，第1张）胡塞武装与也门政府军在也门西南部发生冲突

沙特阿拉伯谴责伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡对油轮发动致命袭击（共3条，此为第2条）

（共3条）中国国家主席习近平罕见访问埃及，敦促建立新的中东安全框架

直到战火蔓延至贾巴尔·哈巴什地区，情况才发生了变化。也门胡塞武装周四清晨对该地区及也门西南部其他地区发动袭击，激烈战斗仍在继续。

随着胡塞武装向拉哈巴推进，赛义德和数百个其他家庭再次逃离家园。

“战斗在夜里突然爆发。我们当时离战场很远，但早上醒来，却震惊地发现前线已经逼近营地。我们别无选择，只能带上基本生活用品逃离，”他告诉半岛电视台。“2022年我们曾被困在交火中，有过糟糕的经历，所以我们不想重蹈覆辙，在战火蔓延到营地之前就逃走了。”

赛义德说，逃离的不仅是他营地里的流离失所家庭，还有邻近营地和村庄的人们。

“我们已经第二次逃离家园，但也有一些家庭是第一次逃离。我们现在都急需住所和基本服务，”赛义德说道，他目前和亲戚们住在另一个流离失所者营地。

在也门前线经历了四年平静之后，赛义德一直盼望着能尽快回到位于马格巴纳的家。但如今，随着胡塞武装与也门政府之间全面战争的可能性越来越大，他只希望能回到拉哈巴，那里至少有住所、有水源，还有一个熟悉的地方。

“我不支持任何一方的军事行动，但我希望战斗尽快停止，我们能够返回营地，因为我们现在最需要的就是稳定，”他说。

胡塞武装突然发动袭击

周四清晨，胡塞武装对塔伊兹省西部战线的政府军发动进攻，其中包括马格巴纳地区的阵地。胡塞武装先使用导弹和无人机，然后展开地面战斗，这场战斗被描述为自 2022 年以来最激烈的战斗。

亲伊朗的胡塞武装在马格巴纳、莫扎和贾巴尔哈巴什等地区的多个战线上取得进展，引发新一轮流离失所潮。沙特支持的政府军表示，他们正在反击胡塞武装的进攻，并已收复部分地区。

政府军和胡塞武装都获得了包括战士和军用车辆在内的增援部队。战斗愈演愈烈，双方均有数十名战士阵亡。

这是也门持续十余年的冲突中最新的一次升级，近几个月来冲突愈演愈烈。这场冲突始于2014年，当时胡塞武装发动政变推翻也门政府，随后占领了也门西北部的大部分地区，包括首都萨那。

自 8 月初以来，胡塞武装对包括马里卜、塔伊兹、荷台达和达利在内的多个省份的政府军发动了致命的导弹、无人机和地面袭击。

胡塞武装还袭击了摩卡港，显然是为了将政府军赶出红海南部沿岸，从而使胡塞武装能够更好地控制这条他们一直在袭击沙特船只的关键水道。

政府军还在多个省份对胡塞武装发动了袭击，据报道对胡塞武装目标进行了数十次无人机袭击。

不断升级的冲突可能会将沙特阿拉伯卷入其中。四年前，沙特阿拉伯上一次正式在也门进行空袭以支持也门政府。

贾巴尔哈巴什地区的亲政府武装人员叶海亚·卢特夫证实，胡塞武装在塔伊兹省西部不同战线发动了突然袭击，但他声称政府军已经收复了几个地区。

卢特夫告诉半岛电视台：“胡塞武装发动这些袭击，企图切断塔伊兹市和红海沿岸之间的主要道路，但他们失败了。我们的目标不仅是夺回他们（周四）占领的地区；我们将继续前进，因为我们士气高昂，并且已经做好了充分的战斗准备。”

他还补充说，双方都有人员伤亡。

卢特夫说：“这些战斗的真正结果将在不久的将来明朗。我呼吁那些报道胡塞武装推进的人耐心等待，我保证会有好消息传来。”

卢特夫补充说，来自各个军事单位的部队都参与了战斗。

前线位于连接塔伊兹市和红海沿岸的主要道路附近，这里是全国抵抗力量的总部所在地，该力量是由已故前总统阿里·阿卜杜拉·萨利赫的侄子塔里克·萨利赫领导的与政府结盟的军事派别。

萨那的一位胡塞武装消息人士告诉半岛电视台，最近的战斗是该组织“为打破对也门人的围困而做出的努力”的一部分。

他说：“我们正在为打破对也门的围困而战，尤其是在海上。这不仅是安萨尔真主（胡塞武装）的目标，也是全体也门人民的愿望。”

消息人士拒绝提供更多细节，而胡塞武装的媒体也一直避免发布有关战斗的细节。

也门记者奥代·杜海尼认为，前线具有重要的战略意义，因为切断连接塔伊兹和麦加的道路——正如胡塞武装周四试图做的那样——将对这两个城市都造成影响。这条道路是麦加运送食品和货物的重要生命线。

“胡塞武装选择这些前线是因为它们的战略位置，”杜海尼说。“如果他们成功孤立红海沿岸地区，他们就可以开始逐个攻击这些地区。”

也门政治分析家阿卜杜勒萨塔尔·沙米里将事态发展与该地区的更广泛事件联系起来——尤其是美国对伊朗的战争。

“这场战斗不能孤立地看待，”沙米里说。“胡塞武装一直在努力夺取红海沿岸的更多领土。”

他认为，这些袭击是伊朗及其盟友展示实力的更广泛战略的一部分，“使德黑兰在霍尔木兹海峡附近拥有了另一个杠杆点”。