Over 80,000 displaced in Yemen as fighting intensifies amid new Houthi push

Yemen’s Houthis have renewed their drive against Saudi-backed government troops, reporting advances on the cities of Taiz and Marib.

Over the course of the week, the group officially known as the Ansarallah movement seized large swaths of land along the country’s Western coast. The militants captured the strategic Red Sea ports of Mocha and Dhubab, as well as Mayyun (Perim) Island at the mouth of the narrow Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Over the weekend, the group reported new advances into the city of Tayiz, which is now left in a narrow pocket extending into the Houthi-controlled territory. The group claimed to have seized several villages and key hilltops to the southwest of the city, which is now connected to the rest of government-controlled territory via a single highway.

The group has also reported heavy fighting near the city of Marib, located some 120 km to the east of the capital city of Sanaa, which it controls. Houthi-affiliated media reported government forces partially fleeing the city and the militants gaining ground on its western outskirts.

Simultaneously, the movement reported a sharp uptick in Saudi aerial bombardment, with over 100 strikes carried out over the weekend on the freshly captured areas. The Yemeni government described the bombings as “precision airstrikes on Houthi military vehicles and militants inside the designated Mocha kill box.”

Ansarallah also released a 40-minute documentary on the recent gains made on the western coast, featuring intensive combat in the mountains, ambushes on fleeing enemy troops, and lavish spoils taken by the group. The trophies include assorted armored and unarmored vehicles, ammunition, drones, and at least one US-made counter-artillery radar, the film shows.

The uptick in fighting has displaced more than 82,000 civilians in the areas affected by the hostilities, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday. Some refugees have braved the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, reaching Djibouti, according to the IOM. 

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“Over 2,000 people fleeing the hostilities have reached Djibouti’s northern shores so far, landing at scattered points along the coast near Obock,” it said. “Djiboutian authorities are leading the response, mobilizing the Navy, army, police, and health services, with support from IOM and UN partners,” the agency added.

Yemen has remained locked in a civil war since 2014, which was further aggravated by a Saudi-led intervention in March 2015 intended to prevent a Houthi takeover and the fall of the internationally-recognized government. The group, however, has successfully resisted and remains in control of the northwestern part of the country, which houses the bulk of Yemen’s estimated population of 43 million. 

The Houthi-controlled areas are in a state of humanitarian crisis due to a naval blockade by Riyadh, suffering recurring famine and major disease outbreaks.