Yemen: government says it “neutralised” 20,000 Houthis in a month – more than 40,000 strikes in “Dawn of Yemen”

A month after the start of the “Dawn of Yemen” operation, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council has presented its own tally of the war with the Houthis. In a statement on Thursday, November 5, the body chaired by Rashad al-Alimi claims that since October 5 the armed forces have carried out 40,761 strikes against the movement on all fronts. According to the Council, about 20,000 Houthis, officers and fighters, were “neutralised”, and more than 5,000 vehicles were destroyed or put out of action. These figures are the government’s claims and cannot be independently verified.

The government side presents the numbers as proof of the attrition the Houthis are suffering and warns the coming days will be even harder for the movement. The Council calls the operation a “decision of no return” and repeats that its aim is to end the coup, restore the institutions of the state and, ultimately, retake Sanaa. Al-Alimi had announced the general offensive in early October.

Taiz at the centre of the tally

A large part of the statement is devoted to Taiz, the city that endures the siege, shelling and Houthi attempts at invasion. At dawn on Thursday, armed forces spokesman Colonel Majed al-Nuzaili said government units together with the Popular Resistance took control of the Sanamat area in Taiz province. In the same briefing he spoke of 1,298 new strikes backed by fighter aircraft, drones and artillery, of “neutralising” about 440 Houthi members and officers, and of 132 destroyed vehicles, armoured vehicles and heavy weapons. The government made similar claims in October, when it spoke of 1,150 dead Houthis in 24 hours. On the al-Jawf front, engineer units are clearing recaptured positions of mines and booby traps.

The Council appeals to residents of Houthi-controlled areas not to let their children be recruited and not to allow the use of homes and public buildings for military purposes. It also praises Saudi Arabia for its support with salaries, services and humanitarian aid.

New ministers and a letter to the UN

In parallel, the government is changing faces. Under Presidential Decree 74, issued on Monday, November 2, Salem al-Awlaki took over the Information Ministry, judge Akram al-Amiri the Ministry of Civil Service and Insurance and Ahmed Saleh al-Awlaki the Ministry of Local Administration. The three were sworn in on Wednesday, November 4 before al-Alimi in Riyadh. The president asked the new information minister to put the state media “at the heart of the battle” for restoring institutions, and the civil service minister to clear up duplicate posts and ghost employees on the payroll.

On the diplomatic front, Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba sent letters to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the president of the Security Council over the death of Mohammed al-Sami, an employee of the UN human rights office who had been held by the Houthis since June 2024. The government demands an independent investigation, access to his detention and medical file and the handing over of his body to his family. It recalls that the Houthis still hold 70 UN employees and five former employees, and calls on the Security Council to activate sanctions under Resolution 2140.