Pro-government forces say they are repelling Houthi attack on Dhubab airport

• Yemen’s Homeland Shield Force says it is working with the Southern Giants Brigades to secure Dhubab Airport in Taiz governorate.
• Government-aligned forces have advanced towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in recent days and are fighting Houthis around the airport.

Forces allied with Yemen’s internationally recognised government say they are repelling a Houthi attack on Dhubab Airport in the western Taiz governorate.

The pro-government Homeland Shield Force said in a statement that its fighters, alongside the Southern Giants Brigades, were securing the airport in the coastal city of Dhubab.

The latest reported fighting comes amid a broader military offensive by government-aligned forces seeking to regain territory along Yemen’s western coast and around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

On October 11, the Southern Giants Brigades said they had repelled a Houthi attempt to advance towards Dhubab Airport and destroyed five armored military vehicles, claiming those aboard were killed. The group also reported an earlier attack on its positions north of the airport.

The brigades said the fighting coincided with airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition targeting Houthi reinforcements. The Houthis did not immediately comment on the reported destruction of the vehicles, according to Anadolu Agency.

Government-aligned forces had announced on October 5 that they had taken control of Dhubab and positions near Bab al-Mandeb as part of an offensive known as “Dawn of Yemen.” They also said they had cut the road linking Dhubab with the coastal city of Mokha.

The Houthis, through media outlets aligned with the group, disputed claims that government forces had advanced into the area.

Dhubab lies near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a vital maritime passage connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. The waterway is a key route for international shipping, making control of the surrounding coastline strategically significant.

The latest fighting is part of a wider escalation between the Houthis and forces supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government, following Houthi advances along parts of the Red Sea coast in September and a government-aligned counteroffensive launched in October.