Yemeni Government Forces Recapture Strategic Hais District in Hodeidah

Yemeni government forces recaptured the strategic Hais district south of Hodeidah on September 6, 2026, amid intensifying clashes with Houthi rebels that have killed more than 60 people in Taiz province and displaced nearly 1,800 families over two days, according to United Nations and military reports.

Escalating Ground Offensives Across Taiz and Hodeidah Fronts

Military forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government launched a counteroffensive that pushed back Houthi rebels across multiple contested fronts in southwestern Yemen. Government troops recaptured Hais district, a vital area south of Hodeidah that links the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, and Ibb, according to Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency. The advance follows a series of tit-for-tat attacks that broke out last week, involving air raids and ground offensives between government troops and the Iran-backed rebels.

Fayad al-Numan, deputy undersecretary of Yemen’s Ministry of Information, reported that troops also captured dozens of Houthi fighters during heavy fighting in the nearby al-Jarahi district, where government forces later launched a counteroffensive. Yemeni forces continued strikes on Houthi positions in areas across Taiz and Lahj on Saturday. Yemeni media reported that the military’s drones destroyed Houthi reinforcements south of al-Jarahi in coordination with a ground assault. Al Jazeera’s correspondent reported on Sunday that powerful explosions were heard in Taiz, noting the Yemeni Defence Ministry’s deployment of new weapons systems. Yemen’s military spokesman, Colonel Majed al-Nozaili, said forces targeted a Houthi site in the province in response to the group’s violations and escalation.

State-run Saba TV reported that Yemeni government forces retook a strategic position from the Houthi group Friday as fierce fighting continued on several fronts west of Taiz province in southwestern Yemen. The army regained control of Tabbat al-Khazan in the Jabal Habashi district following heavy clashes with Houthi forces. The development came as fighting intensified on the Maqbanah and Al-Kadha fronts west of Taiz. A military source told Saba TV that government forces shot down a Houthi drone on the Maqbanah front and disabled a military vehicle belonging to the group, adding that clashes were still ongoing, with government forces continuing to advance and inflict casualties and equipment losses on Houthi forces. Military sources also reported the arrival of reinforcements as part of operations aimed at countering Houthi attacks and movements on the western Taiz fronts. The Houthi group has not immediately commented on the claims. The latest fighting follows clashes Thursday in which the Yemeni army said 50 members of the Houthi group were killed or injured after they thwarted an attack aimed at seizing control of a road linking the cities of Taiz and Mocha in western Yemen. The Taiz front saw a military escalation Thursday, including attacks involving ballistic missiles and drones as well as ground clashes in Al-Kadhah, Maqbanah and Mawza districts in the western part of the province. The escalation is among the most significant rounds of fighting in Taiz since a UN-brokered truce in 2022, amid UN warnings over the risk of Yemen sliding back into a wider conflict. The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and other cities since September 2014, while the internationally recognized government and allied forces control large areas in the south, east and west of the country.

Heavy Civilian Toll and Mass Displacement Strains Relief Efforts

The renewed military escalation has severely impacted civilian populations trapped in the crossfire. Clashes in Taiz resulted in more than 60 deaths, including civilians, on Saturday, the AFP news agency reported. Yemen’s state news agency Saba’a, meanwhile, reported that Houthi shelling of a civilian gathering on the road linking Taiz and Aden killed four civilians and injured nine others.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that about 1,800 families have been displaced over the past two days as fighting escalated in Taiz.

Government Warnings Over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait

Top leadership within Yemen’s government framed the latest military operations as a crucial defense of national territory against Iran-backed forces. Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi asserted that Yemen’s armed forces are capable of restoring full control over the country’s territory, warning that the Houthis will bear the consequences and that their miscalculations would lead to their complete collapse.

Saudi Backed Yemen Forces Crush Houthis In Iran Proxy's Hodeidah Stronghold: Key District Captured

Taiz “will not be a corridor” for the group’s backers

Rashad al-Alimi, Presidential Leadership Council Chairman

Alimi added that Taiz will not be a corridor for the group’s backers, in reference to Iran. The Yemeni government has separately warned that any Houthi movement towards the Bab al-Mandeb strait will face harsh attrition.