Yemeni government forces announced on Saturday that they have successfully repelled recent assaults by Houthi fighters in the Marib province. The military stated that troops supported by warplanes and drones engaged in hours of intense combat to halt the advance of the armed group. According to the statement, government units destroyed several fortifications and pieces of combat equipment during the engagement.
The military reported that operations are also expanding into al-Jawf province, a region currently held by the Houthis. Fighting in this area has continued for three consecutive days as part of the Dawn of Yemen operation. This campaign was launched more than a month ago by the internationally recognized government with the goal of reclaiming territory from Houthi control.
Colonel Majed al-Nazili, the spokesman for the government forces, provided specific figures regarding the Saturday engagements. He stated that the army executed 875 attacks on Houthi positions. These operations resulted in the neutralization of approximately 130 Houthi commanders and fighters. Additionally, the army reported destroying or disabling 50 vehicles and missile launchers. Al Jazeera noted that it could not independently verify these specific claims.
In a separate development, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported that a series of strikes killed at least 27 people and wounded around 30 others in Sanaa province. Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesman for the Sanaa-based Ministry of Health, identified the target as al-Shariya village, located north of the capital. He indicated that the majority of the casualties were women and children.
The Iran-backed Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, attributed the deadly strikes to the Saudi-led coalition that supports the Yemeni government. Field Marshal Mahdi al-Mashat, who serves as the President of the group’s Supreme Political Council, vowed to avenge the attack. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the Yemeni government has yet issued a comment regarding the reported strikes on Sanaa province. Al Jazeera also stated that it could not independently verify the reports from the Houthi side.
This incident follows a day of intense accusations between the two sides. On Friday, the Houthis and the government traded blame over a separate attack that killed civilians at a market in Taiz. Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, highlighted the conflicting accounts. He noted that the Houthis have placed the civilian death toll for the past two days at 55, blaming Saudi air strikes. Conversely, Yemeni government officials have held the Houthis responsible for most of the casualties.
Mawry described the situation as a struggle between two narratives. He observed that both sides are blaming each other and pointing the finger at the opposing force. This exchange of accusations, he said, is taking a significant toll on civilian casualties while the fighting continues.
In addition to the strikes on Sanaa, the Houthis claimed to have launched six attacks on Saudi targets. The group stated that it used ballistic and cruise missiles along with drones for these operations. However, the armed group did not specify the exact times when the attacks were carried out.
The Houthi statement listed several specific targets within Saudi Arabia. These included King Khalid international airport and oil facilities in Riyadh. The group also claimed to have targeted an oil site in Khurais and an oil pumping station in Dawadmi. Additionally, the Houthis said they struck a National Guard camp in Najran and described Saudi troop gatherings in Yemen’s al-Jawf and Marib provinces as targets.
Colonel Turki al-Malki, the spokesman for the Saudi-backed coalition, responded early on Saturday to the missile launch claims. He stated that the coalition had shot down a Houthi ballistic missile over the Riyadh region, confirming the occurrence of an aerial engagement in the area.
