Deadly Houthi attacks in Yemen’s Taiz as government forces advance in Marib

Yemen is seeing simultaneous offensives in Marib and Taiz. Government forces say operation “Dawn of Yemen” has captured commanding heights and positions in Marib. In Taiz, government troops and popular resistance fighters are battling Houthis across several fronts. Houthi shelling has struck residential areas, causing civilian deaths, injuries and property damage.

In Marib, government forces say they seized heights around Maas camp and positions at al-Muqailat and Jabal Zajjar. They used warplanes, drones, artillery and rockets against Houthi positions and reinforcements. In Taiz, fighting spread across al-Dhabab, Hathran, Jabal Han, al-Shaqb, al-Aqroud and al-Misrakh. Government sources also reported capturing 81 Houthi fighters.

The two battles show the conflict widening across multiple fronts. Government forces are trying to recover territory, including Sanaa, while the Houthis retain strong positions and continue attacks. Civilians face the most immediate danger, especially in Taiz, where siege conditions are worsening shortages of fuel, medicines and other essentials.

The Houthis are an armed group also known as Ansar Allah, or Supporters of God. The article identifies them as backed by Iran. They seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, when the war began, and still control it. Their territorial reach has changed during the conflict, with major gains along the Red Sea coast in September.

Those gains included the strategic port city of Mocha and territory around Bab al-Mandeb. The Houthis also have Taiz city under siege and hold positions across parts of Taiz governorate. Their forces operate in areas including Hodeidah, Amran and Marib, where government forces are now attacking their positions. These references show control is spread across several regions, rather than limited to one city.

The government says it wants to retake all remaining Houthi-held territory, including Sanaa. Current battles in Marib and Taiz therefore matter beyond local front lines. Any shift there could change access, military pressure and the balance between Yemen’s rival forces.

The reported scale is large and spans several fronts. Yemen’s military spokesperson said operation “Dawn of Yemen” involved 1,879 precise strikes. He said 950 Houthi fighters were neutralised and 380 military vehicles destroyed. These figures were announced by government forces, while Houthi-affiliated media reported separate air attacks in Hodeidah and Amran.

Ground forces also reported taking commanding heights around Maas camp in northwest Marib. On Marib’s southern front, they announced capturing al-Muqailat and Jabal Zajjar. In Taiz, government sources said 81 Houthi fighters were captured in al-Dhabab. The reported attacks used warplanes, drones, artillery and rocket launchers against positions, barracks, vehicles and reinforcements.

The figures indicate sustained, coordinated military pressure rather than isolated clashes. Yet they do not mean the war is close to ending. Houthis still hold territory, shell residential districts and launch missiles, while fighting continues across northern and southern Marib and several Taiz fronts.

These locations matter because they connect military control with movement, access and wider regional importance. Marib is described as a strategic governorate, and its commanding heights overlook military facilities and front lines. Taiz is a major urban battlefield under Houthi siege. Control there affects civilians, roads and the ability to pressure surrounding areas.

In Marib, government troops targeted heights around the Maas camp and captured positions near Harib. In Taiz, fighting spans western, southern and southwestern axes, while shelling hits residential neighbourhoods. Mocha is important because the Houthis captured its strategic port during their September coastal advance. Nearby Bab al-Mandeb is one of the world’s most important shipping routes.

Together, these places show why the fighting has consequences beyond individual districts. Marib can shape military momentum inland. Taiz combines battlefield and humanitarian pressure. Mocha and Bab al-Mandeb connect Yemen’s war to a major Red Sea passage, making territorial changes there especially significant.

When a city is under siege, civilians can lose both safety and access to basic care. Residential attacks bring deaths, injuries, property damage and panic. Restrictions and fighting also disrupt fuel and supply deliveries. Hospitals then struggle to treat casualties while essential medicines and power supplies run short.

Taiz shows this chain clearly. Houthi mortar shelling hit the al-Ikhwa residential neighbourhood, causing an undetermined number of deaths and injuries and damaging property. The city’s health facilities were nearing depletion of medicines, intravenous fluids, medical supplies and fuel. A rights network documented 43 violations over 24 hours, including five civilian deaths and 17 injuries.

The consequences can worsen even without a new major attack. Shortages make routine treatment harder, while fresh shelling creates more patients and damages homes. Continued fighting around Taiz therefore threatens both immediate civilian safety and the capacity of local health services to respond. The article also reports widespread panic among residents.

The conflict’s current phase began when the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014. The capital has remained under their control, while Yemen’s internationally supported government has continued fighting to recover territory. The article presents the war as a struggle over competing areas of control, rather than a settled division between two clearly fixed sides.

The Houthis made major gains in September by sweeping along the Red Sea coast. They captured Mocha and territory around Bab al-Mandeb. Government forces then launched operation “Dawn of Yemen” just over a week before the report, saying its aim was to retake all remaining Houthi-held territory, including Sanaa. Battles now continue in Marib and Taiz.

Control remains divided because neither side has defeated the other. The Houthis hold Sanaa, Taiz positions and coastal territory, while government forces retain forces and fronts elsewhere and are advancing in Marib. Continued offensives, shelling and shifting front lines mean the territorial balance can change again.

A proxy war is a conflict where outside powers support opposing local forces, allowing their rivalry to shape another country’s battlefield. The local groups still fight directly, but foreign funding, weapons, training or political backing can increase their capacity and reduce incentives to compromise. The article identifies both Saudi and Iranian involvement in Yemen.

The Yemeni government forces are Saudi-backed, while the Houthis are Iran-backed. That support gives the opposing Yemeni sides resources and wider regional importance. The government has launched operation “Dawn of Yemen” using warplanes, drones, artillery and rockets. The Houthis retain territory, bombard Taiz and have made major coastal gains, showing that the conflict remains militarily contested.

Outside backing can prolong a war because each side may continue fighting with external support. It can also make local battles matter to regional powers. In Yemen, the result is a conflict with shifting front lines, competing territorial projects and severe civilian costs. The article does not detail the specific forms of Saudi or Iranian assistance.