Repelling Houthi Attack on Jabal Han
The Yemeni Army announced on Thursday the repulsion of an attack launched by the Houthi group on the strategic Jabal Han, located west of Taiz city, the center of the governorate bearing the same name. Brigadier General Abdul Basit Al-Bahr, deputy head of the Moral Guidance Department in the Taiz Military Axis under the Army, stated in a statement that army forces thwarted this attack.
Al-Bahr added that the attack was stopped after the "enemy (...) burned Jabal Han and the entire western front and residential neighborhoods with shells and heavy artillery." The military spokesperson did not mention any details regarding human or material losses resulting from the clashes, nor did the Houthi group issue any immediate comment on these events.
Strategic Importance of Jabal Han
Jabal Han is considered a site of significant military importance, as it overlooks the Fog Road, which is considered the only vital link connecting Taiz to Lahj Governorate, and from there to the temporary capital, Aden, to the south. The mountain also dominates several neighborhoods in western Taiz city, giving it great importance in securing large areas, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent.
The Houthi group closes most roads leading to areas under government control in Taiz Governorate, according to reports from Yemeni human rights and humanitarian organizations. These organizations accuse the group of imposing a siege on Taiz city since 2015 and preventing relief convoys from reaching residents and war victims, allegations which the group denies.
Claims of Saudi Airstrikes
In the same context, the group spoke of airstrikes it claimed were Saudi, targeting the capital Sanaa in the north and Taiz Governorate in the southwest of the country. The Houthi-affiliated "Saba" News Agency stated in a brief report that "Saudi airstrikes" targeted the capital Sanaa, without providing details on the targeted sites or results.
For her part, the "Al-Masirah" channel, speaking on behalf of the group, stated that Saudi aviation "targeted the communications network in the Al-Nashma area in the Maafir directorate, south of Taiz Governorate," without further details. As of 08:55 UTC, no comment had been issued on this matter by Riyadh or the forces of the coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen.
Ongoing Military Escalation
Since October 5, the "Yemen Dawn" military operation has continued, which President of the Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Al-Alimi said aims to restore state institutions from the Houthis and control the capital, Sanaa. These developments fall within a military escalation that began last July, the widest since the relative calm Yemen witnessed thanks to a truce that began in April 2022.
Yemen has been witnessing a war since the Houthis seized control of Sanaa and several governorates in September 2014, before the intervention of an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia in March 2015 in support of the Yemeni government. The Houthis control most of the northern and western governorates, including Sanaa, Saada, Amran, and Dhamar in the north, Hodeidah in the west, Ibb in the southwest, and Al-Mahwit and Raymah in the northwest, and exercise partial control in Hajjah, Al-Bayda, Marib, Al-Jawf, Az-Zulfi, and Taiz.
In contrast, government forces and their allies control the temporary capital Aden, and the governorates of Al-Mahrah, Hadhramaut, Shabwa, and Abyan, as well as most of Lahj and Az-Zulfi, and parts of Taiz, Marib, Al-Jawf, Hajjah, and Saada.
Source: Anadolu Agency
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