Houthis Advance on Al Maqatirah Castle and Heights Overlooking Routes to Taiz and the South
Key Facts
The Houthis seized the historic Al Maqatirah Castle and advanced into the Tunnel area and elevated positions overlooking the Heijat al-Abd pass, according to Asharq Al-Awsat, which reported fierce clashes with government forces. The advance leaves positions in the district under contested control, but does not mean the district has fallen entirely. Local sources told the newspaper that government forces still control wide areas of Al Maqatirah. Those forces are backed by the Giants Brigades and the Nation’s Shield Forces, the same sources said. Government forces continue counterattacks to retake positions seized by the Houthis, while deploying reinforcements and tribal fighters.
The elevated positions are important because they overlook land routes linking Taiz with southern Yemen. Al Maqatirah Castle and its heights overlook the Heijat al-Abd and al-Karba roads, vital routes connecting Taiz with southern areas, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. The newspaper said control of the heights could open the way toward Tur al-Baha and provide a view of Al Anad Air Base. Asharq Al-Awsat reported on 30 October that the Houthis had launched an attack from three fronts in northern Lahj, seeking to advance toward Tur al-Baha and establish fire control over roads linking Lahj and Taiz. Field sources said the Al Maqatirah attack came from three directions, aiming to control the district and open a route toward Tur al-Baha.
The battles in Al Maqatirah coincide with renewed fighting on the Bab al-Mandab front. In a report published on 2 November, Asharq Al-Awsat said the Giants Brigades had retaken positions in Al Mudharaba and Ras al-Ara, and that the government had sent reinforcements to Al Maqatirah to retake areas it had lost. More broadly, about 12% of global trade, including a quarter of global container traffic, passes through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, according to an Associated Press report. Reports link the importance of Al Maqatirah’s heights to land routes leading west toward Bab al-Mandab, but do not establish that the advance in the district directly threatens shipping. The developments point to simultaneous clashes on land fronts separated across the governorate and coastal areas.
The developments add pressure on Taiz governorate, where humanitarian needs are rising. The Associated Press said the needs of more than a million city residents are barely being met, with families facing shortages of water, fuel and food amid the siege. The agency also reported that the governorate had received about half of those displaced by fighting in Yemen as of 28 October, adding to pressure on its limited resources. Citing the International Organization for Migration, the Associated Press said fighting in Yemen had displaced more than 184,000 people since the beginning of August. On 2 November, the Yemeni government called on the international community to protect civilians and open roads to Taiz city, while the governor said fighting had intensified as the Houthis deployed reinforcements on multiple fronts.
The battles around Al Maqatirah are connected to the broader fighting over Taiz city and access routes to it. An Associated Press report said control of Taiz could help the Houthis advance south toward Aden and Lahj, but quoted analysts as saying the city would not be easy to seize. This does not show that the advance in Al Maqatirah is the closest to Aden since the start of the war, nor does it verify the distance cited in the previous draft. On public services, Taiz Governor Nabil Shamsan said residents had lost access to about 3 million liters of water that had been available from wells in Wadi al-Dhabab, which he said had come under Houthi control; the agency said it had not independently verified the claim. Legal Affairs Minister Ishraq al-Maqtari said more than 2,000 Houthi shells and explosives had hit neighborhoods in Taiz city in recent days, and called for measures to cut off arms and funding supplies to the Houthis.