A wave of anti-Houthi sentiment expands in Yemen

In several governorates—Taiz, Dhale, Shabwa, Lahj, and beyond—local battles illustrate the escalating conflict and portend a larger government offensive against Houthi-held areas. In Dhale, STC fighters recently repelled a Houthi advance, highlighting the armed group’s inability to secure all fronts.

Similar clashes were reported in eastern Taiz, where the Yemeni army dismantled Houthi infrastructure, including tunnels near the Tashreefat military camp. In eastern Al Jawf, tribal forces—specifically the Bani Nouf tribe—attacked a Houthi checkpoint, sparking violent clashes in response to the killing of a tribesman.

The Yemeni army’s destruction of Houthi tunnels in eastern Taiz—part of a broader frontline feeding the western coast—illustrates a pattern of incremental gains designed to pave the way for a more decisive operation, according to US analysis.

Hodeidah remains a focal point of strategic importance, as recent forced displacement, the conversion of civilian homes into Houthi barracks, and the widespread deployment of landmines underscore the armed group’s anticipation of an imminent attack.

Along the coastal areas of Hodeidah and in nearby areas such as At Tuhayta, where the Houthis claim US-UK airstrikes took place, the entrenched presence of fighters and heavy fortifications reflect the gravity of the coming conflict.

The human dimension of the conflict is evident in the Houthi-run prisons in Sana’a, where detainees have died under torture, including Ahmed Taher al-Sharabi, in addition to the politically motivated death sentences, most recently against engineer Adnan al-Harazi, and the ongoing kidnappings and deaths due to torture, which highlight the systematic Houthi violations.

These violations provide the Yemeni government with the necessary mobilization to rally popular and international support, as the Houthis’ campaign of repression in places such as Al-Saleh City prison, and their attacks on residential areas and arbitrary arrests in Taiz, Aden and Lahj, fuel growing demands for a decisive military response.