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Yemen’s pro-government forces say they have retaken about 85% of an area in the southern governorate of Lahj after Houthi fighters advanced there in September. The fighting is taking place near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key maritime route linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
During a visit to Shaab-al-Jinn with the forces, the BBC saw newly built sandbag defences. Commander Tawfiq Al Haboun said the Houthis had used snipers, artillery and ballistic missile launchers in heavy fighting.
Al Haboun pointed to fragments of fibre glass and metal that he said came from a Houthi drone carrying C4 explosives. He estimated that about 500 Houthi fighters remained on high ground overlooking the strategic corridor.
The Houthis took the area in a rapid advance in September, the report said. The commander’s claim that government forces had regained about 85% of it could not be independently verified. The Houthis have denied losing territory in other areas, though the BBC said local sources had not heard them deny losses here.
Fighting displaces civilians and strains hospitals
Five military vehicles were reportedly struck by Houthi-planted improvised explosive devices on the day of the BBC’s visit. The number of fighters killed or wounded was unclear.
About 200,000 people have been displaced since the escalation began in early September, according to the International Organization for Migration. The report described families seeking shelter in the open, with some lacking water, food and other basic necessities.
In the port city of Aden, a military hospital received 51 casualties in one day, many with gunshot wounds. Doctors said some patients required amputations and that they treated wounded fighters from both sides without distinction.
“I don’t care where he comes from, his background or his religion. He is a human being, so I should treat him as a human being,” doctor Bassam Hazar told the BBC.
A 12-year-old boy, Ali, was injured by a drone while walking in the street and faced complex surgery, the report said. Doctor Amr Reyadh Assaqaf said shrapnel was lodged near the boy’s spine.
Conflict has wider regional implications
Yemen’s civil war has become part of broader tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the BBC reported. The Houthis, who already pose a threat to international shipping, are also an increasing concern for Saudi Arabia and give Tehran leverage against its regional rival, the report said.
The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, ousting the government. A Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened the following year, but years of air strikes have not dislodged the group.
A truce in 2022 brought a period of relative calm. The BBC reported that the Houthis now control most of Yemen’s population and could seek favourable terms if mediation efforts resume.
As fighting continues, Hazar said he hoped for peace but did not expect it soon. “Sons are losing their fathers, and mothers losing their sons. We need peace,” he said.
