Heavy fighting, airstrikes sweep multiple fronts across Yemen
Sanaa: Heavy fighting and strikes swept multiple fronts across Yemen, as government forces attacked Houthi targets while the Houthis reported a fresh wave of Saudi airstrikes.
Majid al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the government forces, said in a statement on social media platform X on Wednesday (local time) that the forces carried out 749 attacks on Houthi command centres, fortifications, vehicles and supply lines over the past 24 hours.
Al-Nuzaili claimed the operations neutralised 239 Houthi fighters and destroyed or damaged 117 military vehicles and pieces of combat equipment, reports Xinhua news agency.
He said government forces continued to consolidate gains in the southwestern province of Taiz, while offensive operations continued in other provinces of the country.
Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement on X that Saudi forces carried out 101 air and missile strikes on the Houthi-held capital Sanaa and eight provinces over the past 24 hours, claiming the attacks left dozens dead or wounded, including women and children.
The figures could not be independently verified.
The fighting comes amid a sharp escalation between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, supported by the Saudi-led coalition. The Houthis have also launched repeated strikes deep inside Saudi Arabia in recent days.
Additionally, fresh explosions were heard near Aden International Airport in southern Yemen on Wednesday, shortly after the Houthi group renewed a warning urging people to evacuate the facility, local sources said.
The blasts marked a renewed attack near the airport following an earlier explosion in its vicinity.
Local sources said hundreds of passengers, including patients, had left the airport following the Houthi warnings. The extent of casualties or damage from the latest explosions was not immediately known.
Shortly before the explosions, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea issued what he called a “final” warning for people at the airport to evacuate immediately.
Sarea claimed a Saudi military cargo aircraft was at the airport transporting weapons, without providing evidence.
There was no immediate response from the Saudi-led coalition or Yemeni government to the claim.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.