Escalation in Yemen as Houthi Attacks Intensify Against Government Troops

On Thursday, Houthi rebels, supported by Iran, launched attacks in central and eastern Yemen. These assaults resulted in the deaths of at least 30 government troops and injuries to at least 50 others, according to Yemeni government officials. A Houthi leader claimed that their attacks targeted Saudi-backed troops, resulting in ‘hundreds’ of casualties.

The strikes targeted forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the provinces of Marib and Hadramout. Yemeni officials, speaking anonymously, reported these details as they were not authorized to address the media.

This represents a significant escalation following a de facto truce in Yemen established in April 2022. This truce had previously put a hold on major confrontations between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, which supports the internationally recognized government.

Yemen’s army acknowledged the Houthi attacks on their camps but did not provide an exact death toll.

Houthi Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree stated that ballistic missiles and drones were used in the attacks in Marib and Hadramout provinces. These actions were reportedly a reaction to the increased presence of Saudi-backed forces in eastern Yemen. According to Saree, the strikes resulted in casualties among ‘hundreds of Saudi enemy mercenaries’ and caused extensive damage to camps, depots, military vehicles, and weapons.

‘We call upon all our people to remain vigilant and confront any Saudi aggression, and to strike Saudi troop concentrations wherever they may be,’ Saree urged in his address.

The U.S. mission to Yemen offered condolences to the families of the slain Yemeni soldiers in Hadramout and Marib. They stated on X that the Houthi attacks demonstrated further acts of terrorism against the Yemeni populace.

Yemen has been engulfed in a civil war since 2014, following the Houthi seizure of the capital, Sanaa. This event led to the exile of the internationally recognized government to Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later in 2015, attempting to reinstate the government. However, the conflict has since evolved into a proxy war with a stalemate, lacking a decisive victor.

The Houthis assert that recent escalations, including a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, are retaliatory. These actions respond to Saudi Arabia’s air and sea blockade on Yemen since 2015.