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The BBC’s Orla Guerin joined Yemen’s southern national security forces for a high-speed journey across a desert battlefield in Lahj governorate where Houthi fighters had been pushed back only days before. According to the BBC video report the team rode in a pickup truck with armed fighters in the back while catching views of the Arabian Sea and forbidding mountain peaks. Commander Tawfiq Al Haboun described heavy fighting in the area and showed the journalists new sandbagged positions that marked fresh lines of defence. One military hospital in Aden received more than 50 casualties in a single day many with gunshot wounds and several requiring amputations the report added.
This frontline access comes as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces press Operation Dawn of Yemen a counteroffensive launched on October 4 2026 to reverse Houthi gains from the previous month. Al Jazeera reported that the Southern Giants Brigades led much of the fighting near Bab al-Mandeb seizing Dhubab and cutting supply routes while claiming to besiege Houthi positions. The Long War Journal noted that the operation included five coordinated offensives in Taiz governorate with claims of significant Houthi losses in personnel and equipment. Saudi coalition aircraft conducted hundreds of strikes in support according to official statements cited across regional media.
Southern national security forces operate as part of a loose alliance backing the internationally recognised government against the Houthis who control Sanaa since 2014. The Giants Brigades have roots in southern separatist movements and Salafi networks giving them particular motivation in battles against the northern Zaydi Shiite rebels an Al Jazeera profile explained. Their recent advances have focused on coastal and highland areas threatening the vital Bab al-Mandeb strait.
The strategic waterway remains central to the conflict because it carries roughly one fifth of global oil trade a fact highlighted in multiple analyses including from the New York Times. Houthi advances toward the strait in September prompted the current counteroffensive which has produced mixed results with gains near the coast but setbacks around Taiz according to an ACLED assessment published this week. Government spokesmen have announced the neutralisation of nearly 2 000 Houthi fighters in the first days though such figures could not be independently verified. The BBC report illustrated the human cost on the government side through the Aden hospital admissions.
Yemen’s civil war has created devastating consequences for both civilians and combatants over more than a decade of fighting. The latest desert battles occur against a backdrop of disrupted Red Sea shipping that has already affected international commerce. Orla Guerin noted that progress can be difficult to measure when contesting empty desert expanses yet the new defences suggested incremental territorial recovery. Further fighting continues in neighbouring governorates as both sides reinforce their positions.
Analysts following the campaign caution that Houthi forces have dug in with trenches and minefields stalling further advances in some sectors. The Saudi-led coalition has pledged continued air support to help government troops consolidate gains around the strait. Updates from the Yemeni defence ministry indicate operations remain active across multiple fronts as of mid-October 2026.
