Agencies | Aaiz:
Forces affiliated with Yemen’s internationally recognised government have retaken several positions from Houthi fighters and are advancing in the southwestern Taiz province, as fighting intensifies and threatens to further destabilise the country’s fragile security situation.
Reporting from Taiz on Monday, Al Jazeera Arabic’s Yasser Hassan said Saudi Arabia-backed government forces advanced in western Taiz on Sunday after repelling a Houthi offensive.
The advance was supported by air strikes targeting Houthi positions and gatherings, according to sources cited by Hassan.
“The air force continues to bomb the Houthis on the west coast in Mocha, Dhubab, and their surroundings,” a source in government forces was quoted as saying.
The latest clashes mark a sharp escalation in Yemen’s conflict, which has persisted for more than a decade and has repeatedly drawn in regional powers.
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, said Monday that they had launched attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.
The group claimed the attacks targeted military facilities and infrastructure at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, including aircraft hangars, radar installations, runways and ammunition depots.
The Houthis said the attacks were carried out in response to a Saudi military campaign that they claimed involved more than 300 air strikes across Yemen over five days.
There was no immediate response from Saudi authorities to the Houthi claims.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency issued alerts for Abha and the area around Khamis Mushait, although the warnings were lifted shortly afterwards.
The competing claims could not immediately be independently verified.
The latest fighting in Taiz comes amid a broader Houthi military push along Yemen’s western and southern approaches.
Government forces have sought to prevent the Houthis from expanding their control over strategically important areas of Taiz, while the rebels have continued attempts to consolidate their positions along the Red Sea coast.
The developments have raised concerns that renewed fighting could undermine years of international efforts to prevent a return to full-scale war.
Large-scale fighting had substantially declined after a United Nations-brokered truce in 2022, although the truce formally expired without being replaced by a comprehensive peace agreement.
The conflict has nevertheless remained active through intermittent clashes and military operations.
The latest escalation has also acquired wider regional significance because of the strategic importance of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline.
The Houthis have recently captured parts of the Red Sea coast and strengthened their presence around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
The waterway normally handles roughly 12 percent of global trade, including a significant share of maritime oil shipments and liquefied natural gas.
Any prolonged disruption to shipping through Bab al-Mandeb could have consequences well beyond Yemen, affecting energy markets, insurance costs and international supply chains.
The Houthis have also expanded their military presence on strategic islands in the southern Red Sea.
According to The Associated Press, citing Yemeni government and Houthi officials, Houthi forces have deployed on Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish islands, located around 86 nautical miles (160 kilometres) north of Bab al-Mandeb.
The reported deployment could give the group additional strategic leverage over maritime routes passing through the southern Red Sea.
The conflict has also begun to affect Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure.
Regional officials told AP that repairs to a crucial Saudi oil pipeline damaged in an attack last week could take three to five weeks, potentially leaving the route largely out of service during that period.
The reported disruption contributed to a rise of more than 2 percent in global oil prices, reflecting concerns about Saudi Arabia’s ability to move crude to international markets.
Any prolonged disruption could tighten global supplies and increase pressure on an already volatile energy market.
The renewed fighting represents one of the most serious escalations in Yemen since the decline in large-scale hostilities following the 2022 truce.
The Houthis have increasingly linked their military operations to broader regional developments and have previously targeted shipping in the Red Sea.
Their attacks have prompted international military responses and raised fears that Yemen could once again become a major theatre in wider regional confrontations.
The latest Houthi claims of missile and drone attacks on Saudi territory indicate that the conflict is again spilling beyond Yemen’s borders.
The renewed violence is also worsening Yemen’s already severe humanitarian crisis.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday that fighting in recent weeks had displaced nearly 86,000 people inside Yemen.
Some displaced Yemenis have also attempted to leave the country altogether. More than 2,000 people have reportedly crossed into neighbouring Djibouti, according to the IOM.
Years of conflict have already left millions of Yemenis dependent on humanitarian assistance, while infrastructure, healthcare services and the economy remain severely weakened.
The latest displacement figures underline the immediate civilian cost of the renewed military escalation.
The developments around Taiz, the Red Sea coast and Bab al-Mandeb are being closely monitored because of their potential regional and international consequences.
A sustained Houthi advance could further weaken government-held territory, while continued Saudi air operations risk intensifying the humanitarian consequences of the conflict.
At the same time, any prolonged disruption to Bab al-Mandeb could affect one of the world’s major trade routes and place additional pressure on global energy markets.
For Yemen, the latest escalation threatens to reverse years of efforts aimed at reducing violence and creating conditions for a political settlement.
As government forces attempt to consolidate their gains in Taiz and the Houthis strengthen their positions along the Red Sea, the conflict appears to be entering another dangerous phase, with the potential consequences extending from Yemen’s battlefields to regional security and global trade.
