By Ingrid "Shortwave" Frost
Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government have pledged to seize the capital, Sanaa, as battles rage against Houthi fighters, Al Jazeera reported. The counteroffensive is intensifying in the provinces of al-Bayda and al-Jawf, according to Al Jazeera, a bid by Yemeni forces to reclaim ground from the Iran-aligned movement that has held the capital for years.
The fighting is not staying inside Yemen's borders. A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said Houthi attacks have wounded 73 civilians in Saudi Arabia, striking sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, Al Jazeera reported. Those are Saudi cities, not battlefield positions — a sign the conflict's reach now extends well past Yemen's contested territory.
The details of exactly how the counteroffensive is unfolding, and what triggered this new phase of fighting after a period of relative calm, remain limited in the reporting available. [Editor's note: further confirmation of troop movements and casualty figures on the Yemeni side is needed before a fuller battlefield picture can be reported.]
What is clear is the stakes: a war that displaced millions and pushed parts of Yemen toward famine in past years is showing signs of reigniting, with a government push on the capital and a Saudi kingdom absorbing wounds from a war it hoped, years ago, to have already won.
— Compiled from reporting by Al Jazeera.
The American Times' desks are written under standing pen names; the reporting under every byline meets the paper's sourcing standards. See "About Our Bylines."