Yemeni government forces launched multi-front strikes on Houthi positions after renewed missile and drone shelling of Marib, which hosts more than 2 million displaced people. The assaults follow Houthi attacks on Hadramout and Marib that reportedly killed at least 30 government soldiers and wounded 15. Analysts warn the escalation risks returning Yemen to full-scale conflict as the 2022 truce has expired, and the United Nations has called for immediate de-escalation.
Yemeni Government Launches Multi-Front Assault on Houthis After Renewed Shelling of Marib
A man walks past a damaged building in an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Marib, Yemen [File: Amr Alfiky/Reuters]
Yemeni government forces launched coordinated attacks on Houthi positions across multiple front lines on Saturday, hours after the group renewed missile and drone shelling of Marib city — a move that raises fears the fragile calm could unravel into wider conflict.
Military officials said the operation targeted Houthi 'capabilities and forces' along several axes and the main line of contact, describing the strikes as necessary to 'protect unarmed civilians.' The military reported the action as a deliberate countermeasure following deadly Houthi assaults earlier in the week.
On Thursday, Houthi missile and drone strikes on Hadramout and Marib provinces reportedly killed at least 30 government soldiers and wounded 15. Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Gezan said the Houthis had 'resumed shelling civilian neighbourhoods in Marib city with missiles and drones.'
Marib — which hosts more than 2 million of Yemen's nearly 5 million internally displaced people — experienced renewed bombardment after a Friday attack that the Health Ministry said killed two civilians and wounded 14 others. The Houthis said they were aiming at a military camp on the city's outskirts; the army separately reported it had repelled an evening attack on Friday without casualties.
Reporting and Claims
Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, noted this was the first time in months that government forces publicly announced a counteroffensive. Mawry framed the operation as retaliation for what he described as a Houthi shift toward preemptive strikes on army positions in Marib and Hadramout.
The Houthis said their actions were motivated by suspicions that government forces are coordinating with Saudi Arabia on a broader offensive against Houthi-held territory. Officials from the Yemeni government and some analysts, however, see the operation as a response to recent missile and drone attacks that inflicted military and civilian casualties.
Analysts and International Response
'The escalation carries a looming possibility of tipping Yemen back into full-scale conflict,' warned Elisabeth Kendall, a Middle East specialist and president of Girton College, Cambridge, noting that the 2022 truce has expired and recent troop movements and clashes are worrying indicators.
The United Nations called for immediate de-escalation, condemning both the Houthi missile attacks that struck Yemeni provinces and the group's continued strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea. International actors have urged restraint to prevent a broader regional flare-up.
Context: While active large-scale warfare has been limited in recent months, the breakdown of the 2022 truce and renewed hostilities underscore how quickly localized violence can expand and deepen the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
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