• Fierce fighting is ongoing between Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis in the cities of Taiz, Marib and al-Jawf, including exchanges of artillery fire.
• Yemeni government forces said they targeted Houthis in Mocha and the province of al-Bayda.

Yemen’s Houthis say reconnaissance drone taken down near Mocha

The Houthi military spokesman says an armed reconnaissance drone was shot down as it conducted “hostile missions” over Mocha in Taiz governorate.

“It was targeted using an appropriate weapon,” Yahya Saree said in a brief statement.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles on the battlefield has intensified in recent days, with several dropping munitions on military positions.

Yemen is back in the global spotlight after the Iran-aligned Houthi group made territorial gains earlier this month against the forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government, tightening its grip over the Red Sea coast.

Senior Yemeni official praises proposed US sanctions bill against Houthis

A member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council has praised US Congressman Joe Wilson for his plans to introduce the “Yemen Liberation from Iran Act”, a proposed bill aimed at imposing sanctions on the Houthis and their supporters.

Abdullah al-Alimi made the remarks during a meeting with Wilson in New York, according to a statement posted by Yemen’s Foreign Ministry on X. The two discussed developments in Yemen and threats to shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait.

Al-Alimi said the threat posed by the Houthis was “no longer an internal Yemeni matter” but had become “a direct challenge to regional and international security”, according to the ministry’s statement.

He called for an international response against the group’s sources of funding, weapons and technology, alongside support for Yemen’s military and security forces.

Civilians in Yemen ‘paying a heavy price’ as conflict triggers displacement, mental health crisis

Ibrahim al-Huri, an assistant professor at the University of Saba Region, says civilians are “paying a heavy price” and experiencing mental health difficulties as a result of the fighting in Yemen.

“We have seen hundreds of families who have been forced to leave their houses on the western coast, taking only their essentials with them and leaving everything else behind,” al-Huri said.

“So those people have become disturbed; they have lost their homes, their farms and their sources of income. And many of them have fled to overcrowded camps where people are already struggling to access food, sanitation, water and medical facilities.”

The United Nations has said 130,000 people are internally displaced in Yemen due to fighting. Another 3,000 have crossed the sea to seek refuge in Djibouti and Somalia. They are “using primitive boats and putting their lives at risk”, al-Huri added.

Yemen forces say Houthi offensive on strategic Kahboub mountains repelled

Intense fighting is underway over control of the territorial triangle linking the governorates of Taiz and Lahj with the western coast.

Government forces said they repelled a Houthi offensive in the strategically important Kahboub mountain range.

The National Shield Brigades said they shot down three Houthi drones flying over the mountains. According to the brigades, the drones were intercepted before they could reach their targets or government positions.

The Southern Giants Brigades, also deployed along the front, announced earlier it continues to target Houthi fortifications and reinforcements.

This points to an ongoing confrontation between government forces and the Houthis seeking advance further into these key mountains over looking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Government forces say they already secured large parts of the area, leaving the Houthis with only a few small pockets in the southern countryside.

Battle for Yemen’s Kahboub mountains gives government fighters rare victory

The reported capture of the Kahboub mountains by Yemeni government forces would be a significant victory after weeks of lightning-fast territorial gains by the Houthis, Elizabeth Kendall, president of Girton College at Cambridge University, says.

“[It’d] certainly be helpful in pushing back not only the confidence of the Houthis but also the propaganda narratives that are so well entrenched about how successful they are being,” the analyst said.

Nonetheless, Kendall added: “It is still very significant what the Houthis have managed to achieve so far. They are succeeding in shifting the balance of power inside Yemen. They’re making the Saudi-backed government look weak and on the back foot.

“It’s actually a question of the government forces trying to win back newly conquered territory by the Houthis and trying to prevent the Houthis from expanding further.”

Houthis warn they will strike US assets if it joins Yemen war

The Houthis won’t hesitate to attack US interests in the Middle East if it enters Yemen’s conflict in support of Saudi Arabia, a rebel military official says.

“If America dares to intervene militarily with its fleets or tries to take control of Bab al-Mandeb, it is a red line for them and anyone else… We will fight over it,” Abed Mohammed al-Thawr told AFP news agency in the capital Sanaa.

“If America gambles on supporting Saudi Arabia with air strikes or air support … we will consider any American interests around us to be targets.”

The comments come after a news report said President Trump called off US strikes on the armed group over the weekend. The New ⁠York Times reported the US prepared on Sunday to launch attacks against the Houthis, but decided not to at the last minute.

Saudi Arabia reconsidering its ‘dependence and reliance’ on US following conflict with Houthis

Elizabeth Kendall, the president of Girton College at Cambridge University, has said that the US’s lack of support for Saudi Arabia during the kingdom’s conflict with the Houthis “is a watershed moment for the status, standing, and the reputation of the United States in the Middle East”.

“Despite several calls from the Saudi crown prince to Donald Trump, the United States is talking a good game but it’s not getting stuck into this war in any major direct way alongside Saudi Arabia,” Kendall added.

She said Saudi Arabia is now “reconsidering how much dependence and reliance they want to put into” the US. So, they are trying to secure alternative allies and “signed the Mecca pact with Turkiye and Pakistan, the crown prince went to visit President Sisi in Cairo, and they’ve been in contact with the Chinese” to fill the gap.

US will live up to defence agreement commitments with Saudi Arabia: Rubio

Responding to a question on the Houthi military campaign, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will honour its commitments in its defence pact with Saudi Arabia.

“We have a very strong defence agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we will live up to our commitments in that agreement. We don’t like what’s happening. Obviously, it’s very disturbing,” Rubio told a press conference.

“Saudi Arabia was not just attacked by the Houthis. They were probably also attacked by Shia militias in Iraq, who are an Iranian proxy,” he claimed.

Saudi Civil Defence warns people in Jazan and Najran to seek safe shelter

The Saudi Civil Defence has warned in a statement on X of a potential danger in the southwestern province of Jazan, as well as the southern province of Najran. Both regions border Yemen.

People have been urged to seek safe shelter and to remain there until being notified that the danger has passed.

The Houthis have targeted Jazan and Najran in recent weeks.

Saudi Civil Defence says danger in Jazan and Najran has passed

The Saudi Civil Defence had urged people in the provinces of Jazan and Najran to seek shelter due to a potential danger.

In a post on X, the Saudi Civil Defence has said that the danger has now passed.

Both provinces border Yemen and have been targeted by the Houthis in recent weeks.

New wave of displaced Yemenis overcrowd camp in Marib

One of the largest camps for displaced people in Marib governorate is now home to more than 160,000 people. Most of the shelters are makeshift structures or tents.

Some displaced people have been here for years, but authorities say about 3,000 are new arrivals. They fled the escalating conflict on Yemen’s west coast, mainly from Taiz, Hodeidah and al-Jawf.

Essential services are severely limited. The camp’s lack of proper healthcare facilities has caused diseases to spread. The new wave of arrivals is creating overcrowding. Conditions are becoming increasingly difficult.

Authorities estimate more than 25,000 families have been displaced as a result of the renewed conflict.

For these families, the fighting has not only forced them from their homes but has also left them facing an uncertain future in camps where even the most basic conditions for a normal life remain out of reach.

Yemeni government in military and diplomatic push to reverse Houthi gains

The Yemeni government suffered a significant blow earlier this month when it lost the country’s Red Sea coast to the Houthi rebels. It is now working on a two-pronged strategy, militarily and diplomatically, to restore the initiative and prevent the Houthis from consolidating their gains and pushing further into government-held territory.

The battles in the mountainous regions of southwestern Yemen are critical because of the commanding positions the peaks being fought over provide.

Meanwhile, at the UN General Assembly in New York, Yemeni government officials are attempting to rally support for their push against the Houthis.

Yemeni gov’t forces say Houthis targeted in al-Hazm

Yemeni government forces say they targeted Houthi fighters and locations east of al-Hazm city in al-Jawf governorate.

Houthis say more than 400 ships transited Bab al-Mandeb

The Houthis say 408 commercial ships have transited the Bab al-Mandeb strait between September 11 and September 21.

The group said that an average of 40 vessels per day passed through the chokepoint, excluding Saudi ships, claiming that navigation is proceeding normally and safely.

The Iran-backed group has seized large swaths of territory in recent weeks from the Saudi-backed government. The Houthis are seeking to apply pressure on Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, to lift its blockade of parts of Yemen that are under Houthi control.