Coalition carries out 23 operations against Houthi rebels in Hajjah and Marib

Violence in Hajjah was 875 per cent higher in January compared with the year before, war monitor says

Missiles on display at a Houthi exhibition. The terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a spate of attempted attacks on the UAE leading to global condemnation. Reuters

A Houthi fighter fires an anti-tank missile in an August offensive near the south-west Saudi region of Najran along the Yemeni border. AFP

A Houthi ballistic missile aimed at Saudi Arabia. The kingdom thwarted a bid by Houthi militias to target civilians and civilian sites in the city of Khamis Mushait. Reuters

A file picture of the Quds cruise missile launch from an unidentified location in Yemen. Reuters

Missiles and drone aircraft are on display at a Houthi exhibition in Yemen. Reuters

The Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday that it had carried out 23 operations against Houthi militias in Marib and Hajjah governorates over the previous 24 hours.

Yemen’s armed forces said the attacks launched in Marib led to significant casualties and destruction of equipment in Houthi ranks.

The Houthis managed to break a siege by pro-government forces on the city of Haradh in early February, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (Acled).

After the Yemeni army took over the Mehsam military base, troops "cut off all the Houthi supply routes and imposed a strict siege around the rebels in Haradh from all directions," Acled said.

The Houthis took over Sanaa in 2014, prompting an intervention by the Saudi-led coalition the following year.

A February report by Acled said despite an overall reduction of violence across the country, violence in Hajjah escalated by 875 per cent in January relative to the year before.

On Thursday, US diplomat Steven Fagin revealed that a Houthi terrorism designation was still being considered by the State Department, just over a year after President Joe Biden revoked it.

Mr Fagin promised that the Biden administration would “continue targeted designations of individuals and entities that seek to perpetuate conflict and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen for their own gain".

“The possible designation of the Houthis as a [foreign terrorist organisation] is under review by the administration,” he said.