Fighting in Yemen intensified further on Monday, with Saudi-backed government forces claiming progress in Taiz province and saying they had taken control of the city of al-Mokha and some positions near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Meanwhile, the Houthis also announced new attacks inside Saudi Arabia, while the Riyadh-led coalition stepped up air strikes on Houthi positions.
These developments come as Yemen’s internationally recognised government announced the launch of a major military operation named “Yemen Dawn”.
Yemeni government news agencies, citing a military source, said pro-government forces, with air support from the Saudi-led coalition, took control of the coastal city of al-Mokha, west of Taiz, after heavy fighting.
Yemen’s information minister Muammar al-Eryani said government forces had also taken control of an airport near Bab al-Mandab.
However, the Houthis denied these claims. Hizam al-Asad, a member of Ansar Allah’s political bureau, told the BBC that reports of government forces’ advances, especially in Taiz, are “false”.
Media affiliated with the group claimed its forces had pushed pro-government fighters back from the al-Ma’afer and al-Mawasit districts of Taiz province.
In addition, the Saudi-led coalition has also expanded its air and naval operations against the Houthis.
The coalition said it targeted Houthi military positions in the Red Sea coastal city of Hodeidah.
The coalition further claimed its naval forces destroyed weapons depots and storage sites for explosives-laden boats and naval mines.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-run news agency Saba said two women were killed and seven people, including children, injured in strikes on the capital Sanaa on Monday.
The Houthis claimed they carried out three military attacks inside Saudi Arabia, targeting Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, an Aramco oil refinery in Rabigh, Abha International Airport and a military base in Khamis Mushait.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm the attacks. The claim came as loud explosions were heard in northern Riyadh, according to the news agency AFP and residents near King Khalid International Airport.
The Houthi group warned civilian airlines against using Saudi airspace, saying that apart from the airspace of Mecca and Medina, Saudi airspace is within its forces’ range.
