A still from an Al Araby TV report on the fighting in Lahij, posted on X on November 14. (Source: @AlarabyTV)
Southern Armed Forces said they “repositioned” forces from Dhubab airport and the Bab el Mandeb area west of Taiz, citing threats to Aden, and that the fight against the Houthis continues.
The Southern Armed Forces posted the statement on X early Sunday. Al Araby TV, quoting the Giants Brigades, and Al Arabiya reported the same account. The statement said the move was part of reorganizing their deployment, that securing Aden and nearby governorates was the priority, and that efforts to lift the siege on Taiz would continue, with support from the Saudi led coalition. It said their confrontation with the Houthis, which it described as backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was ongoing.
Houthi aligned accounts claimed their forces had reached Kharaz camp in Lahij, close to the coastal road between Bab el Mandeb and Aden, and some described the Southern announcement as a retreat. Mereja Media could not independently confirm those claims, or whether the camp or the refugees who have lived there were affected. UNHCR and other aid groups had not commented on the camp by early Sunday.
On Saturday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said his forces had targeted Saudi military build-ups in the Kharaz area with ballistic missiles and caused casualties, according to the Houthi run Saba news agency. Saree’s statement claimed strikes in the area, not that his forces had taken the camp. The same day, Anadolu reported that the Giants Brigades said they had beaten back a Houthi attack in Al Madaraba.
Saudi Arabia had not commented on the Lahij fighting or on Sunday’s statement in posts reviewed by Mereja Media. On Friday the Houthis also claimed strikes on a Saudi pipeline pumping station and Yanbu, while the coalition said it intercepted Houthi drones elsewhere in the kingdom.
Sources
- Southern Armed Forces on X (Arabic), Nov 15
- Al Araby TV on X (Arabic), quoting the Giants Brigades, Nov 15
- Al Arabiya Breaking on X (Arabic), Nov 15
- Houthi run Saba, Brig. Gen. Saree: Armed forces target Saudi military build-ups in Lahj, Nov 14
- Anadolu Agency, Yemen’s government-aligned forces repel Houthi attack as fighting has displaced over 340,000 people, Nov 14
- Mereja Media, Houthis say they hit a Saudi pipeline pumping station and Yanbu