Yemen: government forces say they are advancing in the al-Jawf highlands, with air strikes on a Houthi launcher and fighting in Lahij

Forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government announced on Wednesday, November 4, that they had pushed deeper into the al-Dahinah mountain range in the east of al-Jawf province, 24 hours after saying they had taken control of the heights. With the support of fighter aircraft and drones, the armed forces say in their statement, units stormed Houthi fortifications and barracks and seized weapons and military equipment. At the same time, air strikes and drone attacks hit fighter concentrations and depots at several points, with the government side speaking of heavy losses for the Iran-backed movement. These are claims by the parties to the conflict.

The advance is part of the operation “Dawn of Yemen”, which began on October 5 and is now in its second month. After weeks of attacks on Houthi positions, government units had announced the recapture of several strategic heights overlooking the east of al-Hazm, the provincial capital. Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Presidential Leadership Council, who declared the general offensive in October, says the operation will continue until state institutions and the government’s authority are restored across the country. On the earlier phase, see our report on Houthi missiles hitting the presidential palace in Aden.

A missile launcher on Mount Badan

The television channels Al-Jumhuriya TV and Aden TV reported on Thursday, November 5, new strikes on three fronts. In Ibb province an air raid destroyed a Houthi missile launcher on Mount Badan, the second such strike in the province in less than 24 hours. In Taiz, positions of the movement were bombarded on the outskirts of the villages of al-Sarari and Dhi al-Barah, south-east of Mount Sabir.

On the Lahij front, Aden TV describes fierce fighting in the areas of Makatira, al-Sawala and al-Zarik. Aircraft hit Houthi reinforcements at Nakil al-Shaha, while forces of the Fourth Military Region destroyed a Houthi vehicle carrying a 23-millimetre anti-aircraft gun. According to the same channel, dozens of dead or wounded Houthi fighters were taken to the Khalifa hospital in the city of Turbah. The Makatira area lies on the defence line linking Taiz with Aden, where the Houthis had come within 80 kilometres of Aden in early November, and where the government now says it has recaptured positions.

The government side speaks of 322 operations, 64 Houthi fighters killed and 16 military vehicles destroyed or put out of action. It also says a Houthi missile fell in the al-Athaour area of the Haifan district in Taiz, killing or wounding eight civilians, including children.

The Houthis speak of 20 dead from coalition strikes

On the other side, Houthi-aligned media claim air and missile strikes by the Saudi-led coalition killed about 20 people in 24 hours, in the provinces of al-Jawf, al-Bayda, Saada and Taiz. The movement’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, spoke of 104 attacks on civilian property in Houthi-controlled areas, among them the capital Sanaa. On Wednesday the same media had reported four strikes on a Central Security Forces camp in the city of al-Bayda and one on a health centre in the al-Silu district of Taiz.

Fighting between the government and the Houthis resumed in July, ending the relative calm that had held since April 2022. UN reports say the new phase of the war has left thousands dead and wounded and displaced more than 250,000 people. The civil war began in September 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa, and the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 on the side of the internationally recognised government. The tension has crossed the border: Saudi civil defence activated sirens on Wednesday in the Najran area, and on Tuesday the coalition said it destroyed a drone over the Mecca area, which Saree denied. For the latest attacks on the kingdom, see our report on the Houthi claim over Abha airport.