Yemeni government forces say they carried out 1,417 strikes on Houthis in 24 hours

ADEN — Yemen's internationally recognised government forces said on Saturday they carried out 1,417 strikes on Houthi targets in the previous 24 hours, killing or wounding about 800 fighters. The Houthis accused the Saudi-led coalition of hitting civilians.

The claims come from the parties to the conflict. Neither has been independently verified in the source reports.

Government account

In a statement issued under Operation Dawn of Yemen, a military spokesperson said the operations used combat aircraft, drones, field artillery and rocket launchers, according to Arab News. The spokesperson said more than 190 military vehicles and other assets were destroyed or disabled.

Middle East Eye named the spokesperson as Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili. It reported that he described the destroyed or disabled items as armoured vehicles and supply assets.

The statement listed the targets as Houthi gatherings and reinforcements, fortified positions, firing points, armoured vehicles, combat equipment and drone launch sites. According to the spokesperson, the strikes disrupted Houthi movements. They also stopped the group from sending reserves to the front lines or achieving tactical objectives, the spokesperson said.

Middle East Eye reported that the army also hit Houthi barracks, depots and command centres in the northern governorate of al-Jawf.

Fronts

On the eastern front, government forces continued to sweep Houthi positions and widen the area under their control, the spokesperson said. The statement said they had taken a new tactical position there.

In Taiz, armed forces and the Popular Resistance repelled successive waves of Houthi attacks, according to the statement. Combat aircraft struck Houthi positions and reinforcements, which the spokesperson said caused heavy losses in personnel and equipment. Middle East Eye described the attack as one south of Taiz city, repelled with air support.

The spokesperson said military operations were limited to legitimate military targets and carried out in line with international humanitarian law and customary rules.

The armed forces also appealed to residents of Houthi-held areas to protect their sons from recruitment campaigns. They warned people against sending them to fight in battles that, the statement said, served a project that did not represent Yemenis or their national interests.

Houthi account

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Saturday that coalition warplanes carried out 53 air strikes in the past 24 hours, killing and injuring many people, according to Middle East Eye. He said the raids hit civilian areas in the capital, Sanaa, and in the governorates of Taiz, Ibb, Lahj, Saada and Amran.

Saree did not give a casualty figure in the reporting available. The coalition had not responded to the accusation in the source reports.

Background

Arab News describes the Houthis as an Iran-backed group. The Yemeni government's forces are described as internationally recognised, and a Saudi-led coalition is cited by the Houthis as carrying out air strikes.

Casualty and strike figures in conflicts like this one are typically issued by the fighting parties themselves. The two sides' accounts differ sharply in both the scale of the strikes and the nature of the targets. The government says it hit military sites, while the Houthis say civilian areas were hit.