Deadly Houthi Attacks in Taiz, Yemen, as Government Forces Advance in Marib

As the Houthis target residential areas and hospitals in Taiz, government forces are engaged in fierce clashes.

Yemeni government forces say that they have achieved a strategic advance in Marib province in north-central Yemen while continuing the "Yemen Dawn" operation.

The offensive by Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, which began just over a week ago, follows major gains by the Iran-backed Houthis, an armed group also known as Ansarullah, or God's Supporters, in September, when they swept across the country's Red Sea coast and seized the strategic port city of Moka and shipping territory around Bab al-Mandeb, the world's most important shipping route.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's presidential leadership council, said Operation Yemen Dawn aims to retake all remaining areas under Houthi control, including the capital, Sanaa, which the group has controlled since 2014, when the war first began.

Meanwhile, heavy clashes and shelling by the Houthis on residential areas in Taiz in the southwest of the country have left dozens of civilian casualties.

In northwestern Marib province, a military source told Al Jazeera that government forces had successfully taken control of the strategic heights and command centers around the strategic base of Mas in Madghal region. The source noted that this followed intense attacks that penetrated Houthi strongholds.

In the southern front, the Axis forces of Saba and Bihan announced the capture of Al-Muqailat and Jabal Zajar positions in the north of Harib region. The government forces claimed that the intense clashes led to the retreat of the Houthis and suffered material and human losses.

This progress in the field coincided with the continuation of violent fighting on the front lines in the north and south of Marib. Government forces carried out concentrated attacks using warplanes, drones, artillery and rocket launchers, targeting Houthi military positions and auxiliary forces.

The Media Center of the Armed Forces announced by publishing images that the drone attacks on Houthi barracks and military vehicles in the scope of operations of the Third Military Region are documented, referring to the destruction of several vehicles and military equipment.

Top photo: A video of the battles inside the theater of operations of the 7th Military Region North of Marib: Armed Forces Media Center.

Colonel Majid Al-Nazili, the spokesman of the army, announced on Monday that the operation included 1,879 precision attacks, neutralized 950 Houthi fighters and destroyed 380 military vehicles.

Meanwhile, Houthi-affiliated media reported that the airstrikes targeted Kamran Island and Al-Qanwis region in Hodeida coastal province along the Red Sea and Harf Sufyan region in Imran in western and central Yemen.

In the southwestern province of Taiz, where the Houthis have besieged the city of Taiz, government forces and popular resistance fighters are engaged in heavy fighting amid widespread escalation of tension on several main axes.

In the western fronts, heavy battles have flared up in Astalzabab, Hatran and Jabal Han as the government forces have sought to neutralize the infiltration attempts and repulse the attacks of the Houthis. Sources in the government forces told Al Jazeera that forces captured 81 Houthi fighters in Al-Zhab on Monday afternoon.

In the southern and southwestern suburbs, the battles have intensified in Al-Shaqb, Al-Aqroud and Al-Misrokh areas. A field military source told Al Jazeera that government forces are engaged in heavy clashes from all directions in the Al-Shaqb region of Taiz, and the fighting has extended to the areas the Houthis captured in Saber on Monday.

Also in the southwest, a field military source from the Southern Giant Battalions told Al Jazeera that Houthi forces fired a ballistic missile at the highly strategic Jabal Kahabob mountain range in the middle of the night. The source confirmed that there were no human or material casualties and the damage was limited to the impact area around the missile.

The escalation of military tension has severely affected the civilian population. Al-Jazeera reporter Abdullah Qatran reported that Houthi shelling targeted the residential area of ​​Al-Akhawa in the center of Taiz, resulting in deaths, injuries and unspecified financial losses and causing widespread panic.

Due to the fact that Taiz is surrounded by the Houthis, civilians also suffer from a severe lack of fuel and other essential equipment. Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population announced on Saturday that drugs, intravenous fluids, medical equipment and fuel were "nearly exhausted" in the city's health centers.

In addition, the Yemen Rights and Freedoms Network has recorded 43 violations by Houthi forces in Taiz in the last 24 hours, resulting in the deaths of five civilians and the wounding of 17 people. According to the report of Yemen's Ambassador Arjan Saba, the casualties include five-year-old Ahlam Abdulsalam, who died as a result of the shelling of his family's house in Elmi area in the attack on Elmi neighborhood.

The human rights group announced that Houthi forces fired more than 180 projectiles at residential areas, including mortars and artillery shells, Katyusha rockets, tank shells and drones. This bombardment has damaged seven houses, 12 private cars and al-Saeed mosque in Taiz city.

Saba also reported that the Houthi attack attacked al-Safawa hospital on Tuesday morning, breaking its windows and injuring at least one person, causing panic among patients and medical staff. This followed Houthi shelling in which five people, including three children, were injured in Al-Zahra residential area and Bir Basha area.

The Yemen Rights and Freedoms Network warned that continued shelling and logistical restrictions would worsen the humanitarian situation and called on the United Nations and the international community to take urgent measures to protect civilians.