Yemen’s Houthis Lose South Maarib District

The UAE-backed Giants Brigade reported that they captured the Harib District of Maarib away from the Houthis, the first loss the Houthis have had inside Maarib in months.

This comes just a day after the Houthis fired missiles at the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and many of the reports are trying to connect the two events, and suggest that the missile fire led to the losses.

The Giant Brigade’s own statement referred to the Houthi attacks as a “major escalation” in the Yemen War, and seemed keen to make the incidents connected because of the timing.

In reality, the Giants Brigade had been contesting territory with the Houthis in Shabwa Province for weeks, and having taken territory, continued that fight to the north, into Maarib.

As is so often the case, fighting in Yemen doesn’t end to massive changes of territory, and even small shifts in momentum lead to broad predictions, but the war continues to rage with no end in sight.