Smoke rises over the mountains near the Kahlan and al-Aqroud fronts south of Jabal Sabir, Taiz, after what the poster said were coalition airstrikes on Houthi positions, October 28, 2026. Photo: Pictures from Yemen via X
The local authority in Yemen's Taiz governorate has called for an urgent technical investigation into reports that Houthi forces fired shells suspected of containing toxic substances on two fronts south of the city.
In a statement carried on Wednesday by the Saba news agency, the authority said it had received field reports from several combat fronts, most recently al-Aqroud and Kahlan on the southern slopes of Jabal Sabir, about the use of shells suspected of containing internationally prohibited materials. It said similar incidents in the past had caused civilians and members of the popular resistance to suffer breathing difficulties, and that some had lost consciousness, according to the news site Yemen Online, which reported the statement.
The authority asked the relevant Gov't agencies to open an immediate technical investigation, to document cases, eyewitness accounts and medical assessments, and to identify the nature of any materials involved. It appealed to the United Nations and international organizations to support the effort and called for accountability if the use of banned substances is confirmed. The statement did not say how many people had been affected and did not cite any medical tests, Yemen Online noted, and it made no reference to an independent investigation having been carried out so far.
Yemen's Information Minister, Moammar al-Eryani, raised the alarm the same evening. "Field reports from the al-Aqroud and Kahlan fronts concerning the use by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist militia of shells suspected of containing prohibited toxic substances represent an extremely dangerous development," he wrote on X. He linked the reports to earlier warnings about smuggling of chemicals and military equipment, including a boat that he said Government forces on the west coast had seized near the Bab el-Mandeb carrying chemical substances and military equipment from Iran.
The Houthis, who control Sanaa and much of the north, did not respond publicly to the accusation. Mereja found no statement from the group's military spokesman or its media about the claims by Thursday evening. On X, the account @TByemen dismissed the reports as a lie on Thursday, mocking those who had accused Sanaa of using "toxic gases and chemicals" in Taiz.
On social media in Taiz, the reports spread fast and with growing alarm. The journalist Zakaria al-Ghandri (@al_ghandri) wrote on Wednesday of "dangerous news from Sabir in Taiz about cases of suffocation among residents and members of the resistance, suspected to be caused by inhaling toxic gases fired by the Houthi militia," and called for urgent tests. The account @zydlsmy1262534 addressed the United Nations and the World Health Organization directly, asking for samples to be taken from the blood of the injured and from the air, soil and water. By Thursday a hashtag accusing the Houthis of targeting Taiz with poison gas was circulating, and @albasam53 asked "what is the fault of the children, women and citizens of Taiz, that their homes turn into places of fear and suffocation."
The account @AmynSadq13083 shared a video on Thursday, which has been viewed more than a thousand times, saying the shells had caused "cases of suffocation and fainting among civilians and the popular resistance." Mereja could not verify any of these accounts, and no photos or medical records showing affected people have been published. The research account Sheba Intelligence (@shebaintelligen), which has previously published allegations about Houthi chemical activity, said the official reports renewed attention on its earlier warnings. Iran International also reported Eryani's remarks.
The claims come during some of the heaviest fighting around Taiz in months. The Taiz Rights Center said on Wednesday that the Houthis fired about 270 rockets and artillery shells at the populated Kahlan area in 24 hours and issued an urgent appeal to save civilians, according to the news site Al Majhar. The rights group SAM for Rights and Liberties described "indiscriminate and continuous shelling" of Kahlan in Sabir al-Mawadim district and the Duba front in al-Aqroud, Marib Press reported. Pictures shared on X by the account Pictures from Yemen on Wednesday showed smoke rising over the mountains after what it said were coalition airstrikes on Houthi vehicles and fighters near the two fronts.
On Thursday Government forces said they had pushed back. The 35th Armored Brigade announced that it had retaken two positions on the Sabir front in a surprise attack, according to the outlet Al Nakkar, and the channel Yemen Shabab reported advances in al-Misrakh and Sabir al-Mawadim districts.
Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, has been surrounded by Houthi forces since 2015. Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that the humanitarian crisis there has drastically worsened since October, when Houthi forces fully encircled the city and blocked the remaining major supply route, causing severe shortages of fuel, food, water, medicine and cooking gas.
The statement from Taiz said any violations established by investigation would be "pursued through the appropriate legal mechanisms," Yemen Online reported.
Mereja has asked the office of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen and Yemen's embassy in the United States for comment. Neither had responded by publication time.
Sources
- Yemen Online
- Al-Mahriah
- Human Rights Watch
- @TByemen on X
- Moammar al-Eryani on X
- Zakaria al-Ghandri on X
- @zydlsmy1262534 on X
- @albasam53 on X
- @AmynSadq13083 on X
- Sheba Intelligence on X
- Iran International on X
- Al Majhar on X
- Marib Press on X
- Pictures from Yemen on X
- Al Nakkar on X
- Yemen Shabab TV on X