150 civilians killed by Houthi fire since Sept. 3, Yemeni government says

The figures were announced in a statement by the Human Rights Ministry that was published late Sunday by the official Yemeni news agency Saba.

The ministry strongly condemned the “military escalation and widespread violations committed by the Houthi group” since Sept. 3 in several areas of Taiz, Al-Hudaydah and Marib.

The escalation included ballistic missiles and drone strikes, shelling with various types of weapons, as well as attacks on populated areas, displacement camps and convoys of civilians fleeing fighting zones, it said.

The ministry said 150 civilians were killed and more than 200 others were injured by Houthi fire, while around 85,000 people were displaced.

Property was destroyed and families were deprived of their homes, livelihoods and basic needs, it added.

Around 2,000 people had arrived in Djibouti because of the escalation, reflecting the spread of the humanitarian impact beyond Yemen, the ministry said.

It held the Houthi group responsible for the violations and called on the international community, the UN, the Human Rights Council and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to act urgently to stop attacks on civilians.

The ministry also called for the protection of displaced people, camps, evacuation convoys and medical facilities, as well as the release of abductees and arbitrarily detained people and information on the fate of the missing.

Territorial control in Yemen has changed significantly in recent days, with the Houthis announcing control of several districts on the western coast as well as islands in the Red Sea, including Mayyun Island, also known as Perim Island, in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Yemeni government forces announced advances in Al-Jawf province near the Saudi border and said they were approaching Al-Hazm, the provincial capital.

In addition to repelling a major attack on Marib, they also reported airstrikes on Houthi targets in and around Mokha and in areas of Taiz, Lahij and Al-Dhale provinces, saying military vehicles and weapons were destroyed.

Confrontations between government forces and the Houthis have escalated since early July 2026, following years of relative calm.

Yemen has been engulfed in war since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces in September 2014, before a Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.