Heavy fighting has re-erupted across southwestern Yemen following a major offensive by Houthi forces and counter-operations by forces aligned with the internationally recognized Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), shattering fragile local truces and inflicting a heavy toll on civilian populations.
According to humanitarian reports, intense ground combat, artillery exchanges, and cross-border airstrikes across Taiz, Al-Hodeidah, Al-Jawf, and Marib governorates have displaced at least 46,000 civilians. International aid agencies report that entire villages in the Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi, and Al Ma’afer districts have been emptied as families flee toward overcrowded temporary displacement camps near Lahj and Aden, often leaving behind their belongings amid heavy shelling.
The clashes have cut off critical transit corridors, including the vital highway linking Taiz to coastal trade routes, crippling humanitarian aid access and stranding civilian populations without adequate food, clean water, or emergency shelter. Dozens of civilians have been killed or injured in recent days, including children caught in artillery fire on IDP camps.
The resurgence in violence is further crippling Yemen’s already fragile infrastructure. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that hospitals in major urban centers are experiencing an overwhelming influx of trauma cases, forcing facilities to reallocate emergency resources away from basic medical care while operating at severely reduced capacity.
