AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Yemeni armed forces have managed to advance militarily over the past hours in a number of areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait in western Taiz. This advance came after intense clashes with Saudi-aligned groups on two strategic fronts, Al-Kadaha and Maqbanah, which overlook the main supply routes in western Taiz and are used by these groups to reinforce their forces on various fronts in the rural areas of the western province.
Western Taiz; A New Battlefield
According to a report by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, these two fronts are of great importance to the security of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as they represent the geographical depth and the ground gateway to the western coast, the city of Al-Mokha, and the strait. The Al-Kadaha area also serves as the connection point between the mountainous regions and the western coast of Yemen, and controlling it would enable advancement toward Al-Barah and then Al-Mokha. Furthermore, control of this area would mean dominance over the route for transferring forces and equipment from Aden and Lahj to the western coast of Yemen.
For this reason, concern among Saudi-aligned groups over the complete fall of these fronts to Yemeni armed forces has increased. An event that, according to sources close to these groups, could pose a new threat to shipping in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Al-Kadaha; A Strategic Chokepoint on the Taiz-Al-Mokha Route
Local sources in Taiz told Al-Akhbar that clashes, in which various types of weapons were used, took place between the two sides in four main sectors of the Taiz axis: Al-Tuwayr, Al-Ahtoub, Al-Kuwayhah, and Jabal Ghabari.
According to these sources, after receiving intelligence about the intention of Saudi-aligned groups, including the Al-Nasr Brigade affiliated with the Taiz axis and under the control of the Islah Party, to attack the contact lines with Saudi support and planning, Yemeni armed forces attacked military concentrations in Al-Kadaha.
In response, military sources affiliated with Saudi-aligned parties announced that the clashes had spread to four fronts. Some of these fronts are in the Al-Waziyah district, others in the Mawza district, and a third front is in the Al-Barah axis in western Taiz. Clashes have also continued on the Al-Kadaha front, located in the Al-Ma'afar district, as well as the Al-Ahtoub and Al-Kuwayhah fronts in the Jabal Habashi district.
Advance of Yemeni Armed Forces in the Highlands
While activists close to the UAE have accused the Al-Nasr Brigade of abandoning the Al-Kadaha front, informed field sources told Al-Akhbar that Yemeni armed forces have engaged in intense clashes with Saudi-aligned groups on the Maqbanah and Jabal Habashi fronts.
These clashes occurred after Yemeni armed forces succeeded early yesterday in taking control of areas including Hamrah, Al-Qawz Al-Asfal, Al-Rahbah, Khazan Hill, and Masna'ah, as well as several other strategic positions. In addition, they gained control over mountain ranges overlooking the villages of Al-Ufayrah, Al-Nuwayhah, and Al-Udhayr, several hills in the Mawza district, and the Al-Barashah mountain range overlooking the Hays district.
According to sources, groups affiliated with Tariq Saleh are currently attempting to recapture some of these positions that have fallen to Yemeni armed forces. This operation is being carried out with the support of forces from the Salafi "Al-Amalqah Brigades" in southern Yemen.
Casualties Among Saudi-Aligned Forces
While Saudi-aligned groups have acknowledged the killing of a number of their commanders in the Al-Kadaha and Maqbanah clashes, Agence France-Presse, citing sources within these groups, confirmed the deaths of 13 of their forces.
Media outlets affiliated with the Saudi-backed Aden government also announced that clashes continue intensely on various fronts in western Taiz and expressed concern over the fall of the strategic route between Taiz and Al-Mokha in the Al-Kadaha area. However, they claimed that Saudi-aligned armed groups, after Yemeni armed forces seized two military positions on the Al-Kadaha front, managed to recapture them.
Subsequently, sources close to the Saudi-backed Aden government confirmed the fall of Jabal Nu'man on the Jabal Habashi front. This mountain includes important positions and overlooks extensive military supply routes connecting several fronts.
Jabal Habashi; A Key Point in the Field Equations of Western Taiz
Activists in Al-Mokha also accused Islah Party forces of withdrawing from strategic positions in Jabal Habashi and abandoning Jabal Nu'man. According to them, this action allowed Yemeni armed forces to take control of several positions around this mountain and cut off supply routes for the joint forces affiliated with Saudi Arabia.
Simultaneously with warnings from activists close to Tariq Saleh on Yemen's western coast about the consequences of the fall of areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait for shipping security in this strait, military sources in western Taiz predicted that clashes would intensify in the coming days.
The command of the Al-Salaw front in the southeast of the province, which is under the control of the Saudi-backed Aden government, also announced a nighttime curfew in the "Uzlat al-Dabbah" area and several other areas due to their location on the direct contact line.
Missiles and Drones Enter the Western Taiz Equation
In this context, forces affiliated with Tariq Saleh, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council of the Saudi-backed Aden government stationed on Yemen's western coast, confirmed being targeted in a series of missile attacks.
Sources close to these forces announced that Yemeni armed forces attacked their camps in the rural areas of Al-Mokha and south of Al-Khawkhah with approximately 14 ballistic missiles and a number of drones.
These sources also claimed that air defense systems intercepted some of the drones, while downplaying the potential impact of Yemeni armed forces' missile strikes on the operational scene.
However, other sources in Al-Mokha and Al-Khawkhah emphasized that the new strikes caused large explosions in several military camps, indicating, according to them, that the strikes likely targeted weapons depots and reinforcements of forces and equipment.
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