The Al-Maqatirah front, located on the border between the Lahij and Taiz governorates in southwestern Yemen, turned into a theater of violent clashes over the past 24 hours. Field and military sources reported that the terrorist Houthi group deployed significant human and military reinforcements in an attempt to advance toward strategic areas overlooking the Haijat al-Abed road, before facing government and local resistance and intensive air support. Field sources said that the Houthis pushed columns of fighters, armored vehicles, and military trucks toward the Sailat Souq Al-Rubu and areas below the Haijat al-Abed pass. The offensive began at midnight on Friday and continued until the early hours of Saturday, coinciding with heavy artillery shelling and attempts to advance across the ridges overlooking the area. The sources added that the airstrikes targeted Houthi reinforcements and blocked their movement, disrupting supply lines and reinforcements from Taiz. Fighters from Al-Maqatirah and other areas launched a counteroffensive against the Houthis with government artillery support to prevent them from consolidating new positions and advancing toward the high ground. Furthermore, field sources said that several Houthis were trapped in a difficult tactical position at the foot of the Haijat al-Abed pass after the road was targeted. Groups of fighters scattered into the surrounding heights, while military trucks and armored vehicles came under fire during their withdrawal. The sources added that additional Houthi reinforcements arriving from the direction of Al-Turbah to a halt before the blocked road - obstructed by airstrikes and rockslides - before they were also targeted. Meanwhile, dead and wounded personnel were transferred to local health facilities. Local sources said some 60 bodies of Houthi fighters, including commanders, arrived in the city of Al-Turbah, the administrative center of Al-Shamayatayn District. They also noted that other dead and wounded personnel were transported to the areas of Al-Nashmah and Al-Bayrin. The Maqatirah battles coincided with the continuation of clashes across other fronts in Taiz, particularly on the southern and western axes, where government forces announced on Friday that they had carried out attacks and artillery and drone strikes against Houthi positions and vehicles.
