Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:
The Yemeni Army announced on Friday that it had repelled a large-scale attack launched by the Houthi group on military positions along the Alab front in northern Saada Province, in what has been described as one of the fiercest clashes on the front in over two years.
Major General Yasser Mujalli, commander of the Alab Axis and the 63rd Infantry Brigade, stated via the Armed Forces Media Center that army forces thwarted a surprise assault launched by the Houthis early Friday morning and carried out a counterattack that resulted in “dozens of Houthi casualties” and the destruction of three of their military vehicles.
Mujalli confirmed that 10 army soldiers were martyred during the fighting while carrying out their national duty. He noted that skirmishes are still ongoing in some pockets, and that Houthi corpses are scattered across the ravines and valleys of the region.
This engagement marks one of the most violent confrontations between the two sides since August 2022, when 10 government soldiers and 23 Houthi fighters were killed in clashes in Taiz Governorate. The fragile truce, initially declared in April 2022, continues to teeter on the edge of collapse.
Despite the United Nations’ announcement in late December 2023 that Yemeni parties had agreed to a roadmap including a comprehensive ceasefire and improvements in living conditions, implementation remains stalled due to the Houthis’ refusal to fully commit to the UN- and regionally-backed plan.
