Aden (Yemen): Yemen’s pro-government forces have said they had repelled a large-scale attack launched by Houthi militia targeting military positions in the northern province of Saada.
In a statement posted on Friday on social media platform X, the forces said they “thwarted a large-scale attack” by Houthis on the Aleb military front, north of Saada province, Xinhua news agency reported.
The statement said that 10 government soldiers were killed in the confrontation, while “dozens of enemy fighters” were killed or wounded.
It added that bodies of Houthi militants were found scattered across valleys in the area, and three Houthi military vehicles were destroyed.
No immediate response was available from the Houthi group regarding the reported confrontation.
Yemen has remained in a fragile state of calm since the collapse of a UN-brokered truce at the end of 2022, with both sides failing to agree on its renewal or expansion.
The conflict, which began in late 2014, has killed hundreds of thousands and pushed millions to the brink of famine, according to UN estimates.
In a statement shared by the military media center on X, Brigadier General Yasser Mujalli, commander of the Alab Axis and the 63rd Infantry Brigade, said that Houthi forces launched a wide-scale attack at dawn targeting army positions along the Alab front in northern Saada.
“Our forces detected enemy movements and thwarted the attack,” Mujalli said, adding that a counteroffensive inflicted heavy losses on the Houthis and forced them to retreat.
“Dozens of enemy fighters were killed or wounded, and their bodies remain scattered in the valleys and rugged terrain,” he said, noting that three Houthi military vehicles were also destroyed.
Mujalli confirmed that 10 soldiers were killed “while fulfilling their national duty with honour and bravery”.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthi group on the incident.
The clashes are said to be the fiercest clashes between the two sides since August 2022, when a similar battle in Taiz province left 10 government soldiers and 23 Houthi fighters dead.
While a UN-brokered truce declared in April 2022 led to a relative reduction in hostilities, intermittent fighting has continued to threaten the fragile calm.
The Houthi group continues to control several provinces in northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, which it seized on September 21, 2014.
In December 2023, UN envoy Hans Grundberg announced that both the Yemeni government and the Houthis had agreed to a roadmap including a nationwide ceasefire and measures to improve humanitarian conditions.
However, the plan has yet to be implemented amid mutual accusations of non-compliance.
(IANS)
