Aden (South24 Center)

Clashes renewed on Thursday (October 15) between forces loyal to the Yemeni government and the Houthis on several fronts in Taiz. Fighting continued west and northwest of the city as the Houthis pressed their attacks along its front lines and access routes.

Over the past few days, the Houthis have taken control of large areas of the governorate’s countryside, including areas in Al-Turbah, Al-Mawasit and Al-Misrakh, and advanced in parts of Jabal Habashi. Their cutoff of the main road between Taiz and Aden and the closure of other routes have encircled the city and disrupted the delivery of supplies. Taiz has not fallen entirely, however. Control in and around the city remains fragmented, fighting continues along its approaches and front lines, and forces loyal to the government have regrouped inside the city after withdrawing from surrounding areas.

Clashes are concentrated west of the city in Al-Dhabab, Hadharan and Jabal Han, and to the south and southeast on the Al-Shaqb, Al-Aqroud, Al-Misrakh and Jabal Sabir fronts. Fighting has also continued near Al-Hangar checkpoint, an important western access point. The Houthis announced an advance there, while local sources told South24 Center that Houthi forces took control of the checkpoint on Wednesday.

Forces loyal to the government said they repelled a Houthi attack on Jabal Han, west of the city, on Thursday after hours of fighting. Col. Abdul Basit al-Bahr, deputy head of the Moral Guidance Department at the Taiz Military Axis, was quoted as saying that the Houthis shelled the mountain, the western front and residential neighborhoods with projectiles and artillery. No casualty figures were provided.

Jabal Han overlooks Al-Dhabab Road, which links Taiz to Lahij and, farther south, Aden. Local media sources also reported that airstrikes destroyed Houthi communications towers in the Bani Bakkari area of Jabal Habashi district.

In another field development, the 5th Presidential Guard Brigade said Wednesday that it had detained five Houthi security officials during clashes in western Taiz’s countryside. Their identities and the positions attributed to them could not be independently verified.

Abdulqader al-Mortada, head of the Houthis’ Prisoners’ Affairs Committee, acknowledged that personnel had been detained but said they were employees of the group’s Interior Ministry who had lost their way amid overlapping front lines. He denied that their detention represented a strategic setback.

Government military spokesperson Col. Majed al-Nuzaili said Wednesday that forces loyal to the government had conducted 2,309 targeting operations as part of the “Dawn of Yemen” campaign. He claimed the operations had killed or wounded about 1,250 Houthi fighters and destroyed or disabled more than 460 military vehicles and pieces of equipment.

South24 Center could not independently verify these figures.

In Lahij, the Houthis said Wednesday evening that they had targeted positions held by Southern forces in Ras al-Ara and Al-Mudaribah with three ballistic missiles. They gave no details about the outcome or any casualties.

Aseel al-Saqladi, media director of the Southern Giants Brigades, said Southern forces had destroyed Houthi units and brigades during the fighting. He described as “fabricated” a video published by the Houthis claiming they had repelled an attack on the Bab al-Mandeb front, captured fighters and destroyed vehicles. He said no Giants fighters had been captured and no vehicles belonging to the brigades had been seized.

The clashes come amid a call by Southern Transitional Council President Aidarous al-Zubaidi for general popular mobilization to defend the South and support the Southern Armed Forces.

In a televised address on October 13, al-Zubaidi called on Saudi Arabia and the international community to recognize the Constitutional Declaration and Political Statement issued on January 2. He also condemned Houthi attacks on civilian facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Read more: STC Leader Announces Mobilization, Seeks Recognition of South Arabia Statehood Plan

Aden and other southern governorates held public rallies the following day. A statement issued after the rallies said the role of Southern forces should remain focused on defending the South’s borders and rejected giving the conflict a sectarian character.

The United Nations warned that shifting front lines, road closures and insecurity were restricting aid access to Taiz. It said the World Food Programme had warned that fighting had cut off life-saving assistance to 800,000 people. The European Union called on the Houthis to lift the siege and allow food, water, medicine and fuel into the city.