Yemen Government Forces Report 356 Operations Against Houthis in 24 Hours

Yemen's government forces carried out 356 "precise targeting operations" against Houthi fighters across multiple fronts over a 24-hour period, a spokesperson for the government forces, Majid al-Nuzaili, said on Monday.

In a statement, al-Nuzaili said the operations employed a range of weapons to destroy or damage Houthi command-and-control centres, weapons depots, field artillery equipment, military vehicles and other targets. According to the statement, 476 Houthi fighters were killed or wounded.

A government military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Houthi forces launched an offensive early Monday against government-held mountainous positions in the Al-Madaribah wa Ras Al-Arah district, a rugged area overlooking approaches to the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The official said the Houthis initially captured several positions after hours of intense fighting before government forces brought in reinforcements and mounted a counterattack.

"We managed to push them back from the positions they had seized," the official said, adding that 28 Houthi fighters were killed and several others wounded in the fighting. Warplanes also conducted several airstrikes against Houthi positions, gatherings and military vehicles in the area in support of government forces, the official said, without identifying the aircraft involved.

Also on Monday, a Houthi military source speaking on condition of anonymity said Houthi fighters killed 16 government soldiers and wounded several others during fighting in Lahj. "We advanced despite the heavy airstrikes," the Houthi source said, insisting the group remained in positions captured earlier in the day.

Fighting has intensified across southwestern Yemen in recent weeks after the Houthis seized the strategic port city of Mocha and Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait earlier this month.

Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.