SANAA, October 4 — Yemeni government forces and Houthi forces intensified fighting across multiple fronts in Yemen on Wednesday, with the United States reiterating its support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government. According to Reuters sources, US officials held direct talks with Houthi representatives in Oman the previous weekend. Yemeni government forces reported that the Saudi-led coalition had struck Houthi positions around Mocha and that government forces had launched drone attacks in Marib.
The Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib. Saudi Arabia requested missile defence support from regional and Western allies due to dwindling stocks of interceptors, as reported by two officials who spoke to The Associated Press.
The Houthis’ military spokesman, Yahya Saree, stated that the group’s forces would continue striking Saudi military targets until the Saudi-led aggression ceases and the blockade on Yemen is lifted. This statement followed a Houthi claim of striking an Aramco site, which contributed to heightened tensions in the region. Shipping risks at two key Middle Eastern maritime passages returned to focus on Wednesday after an unexplained explosion near Iran’s Qeshm Island, while the Houthis also claimed to have downed a drone in a separate incident.
Saudi Arabia’s new defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan was tested when a Houthi drone struck Jizan, revealing limits in the alliance’s immediate response capability. Earlier, the Iran-backed Houthi militia fired six ballistic missiles at cities in Saudi Arabia, according to a Saudi military spokesman, with no immediate comment from the Houthis.
Government forces also reported striking Houthi targets in other engagements, as fighting widened across several Yemeni fronts amid a broad counteroffensive by internationally recognised government forces. The United States ruled out a direct military role in the conflict despite the escalation, emphasizing diplomatic support instead. All events described occurred within the context of intensified fighting reported on Wednesday, with specific references to actions taken the previous weekend and ongoing developments in Marib, Mocha, Jizan, and near Qeshm Island.
Yahya Qasim Saree, born in 1970 in Saada Governorate in northern Yemen, serves as the spokesperson for the Supreme Political Council-led Yemeni Armed Forces, a renegade faction aligned with the Houthis. He holds the rank of Brigadier General and was appointed to this role on 17 October 2018, succeeding Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman. Following the outbreak of the Yemen war in 2015, Saree enlisted in the Yemeni Armed Forces.
By 2017, he had been promoted to Colonel and appointed head of the Psychological Warfare Division within the Moral Guidance Department. In mid-2018, he was named Director of the Moral Guidance Department before his appointment as spokesman.
His statements are broadcast primarily via Al-Masirah TV, his Telegram channel, and his Twitter accounts. Saree’s main Arabic-language Twitter account, active since November 2018, was suspended by Twitter in April 2022. At the time, it had over 340,000 followers and served as a key platform for updates on military operations against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
After being reinstated and amassing approximately 121,500 followers, Saree’s account was suspended again in 2026. In 2024, Twitter removed the blue “Verified” badges from several Houthi-affiliated accounts, including Saree’s Arabic and English profiles, following the U.S. redesignation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization.
A multi-volume book series titled The Spokesman has been published by the Department of Moral Guidance of the Yemeni Armed Forces, compiling Saree’s official statements. The first volume covered October 17, 2018, to October 17, 2019. A second volume was issued on November 28, 2022, documenting activities from October 18, 2019, to May 30, 2022.
