7 September 2026
SAM for Rights and Liberties monitored the continued military escalation in Taiz Governorate on 6 and 7 September 2026, amid reports of attacks affecting residential areas, villages, and neighborhoods, the targeting of civilian vehicles being used to evacuate displaced people, as well as arrests at checkpoints and the detention of an ambulance. SAM also received concerning information regarding the recruitment of children and young men in Ibb Governorate as the scope of the fighting expanded.
These developments come as an extension of the escalation along the Taiz frontlines since 3 September. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the fighting resulted in the displacement of approximately 1,790 households from Maqbanah, Jabal Habashi, and surrounding areas within a short period, while continued shelling restricted the movement of some families and prevented them from reaching safer locations.
On 7 September, Al-Masdar Online reported that a ballistic missile, attributed to the Houthi group, targeted civilian vehicles in the Al-Ghayl area, north of Al-Wazi'iyah District in Taiz Governorate, while they were being used to transport and evacuate displaced civilians from areas of fighting, injuring a number of civilians.
If it is established that the targeted vehicles were civilian in nature, were being used exclusively to evacuate civilians, and were not being used for military purposes, they would enjoy the protection afforded to civilian objects. Their deliberate targeting would raise serious concerns regarding compliance with the principle of distinction and the protection of civilians fleeing areas of military operations.
On 6 September, journalist Fares Al-Hemyari, citing local sources, reported that the Houthi group opened the road connecting Al-Mokha and Al-Kadhah for several hours, established checkpoints along the road, and arrested a number of civilians as they passed through.
According to the same source, members of the group detained an ambulance carrying the bodies of two soldiers while it was traveling from Al-Mokha toward Taiz city. Local media outlets later circulated similar information concerning the establishment of checkpoints, the arrest of civilians, and the detention of the ambulance.
SAM continues to independently verify the number, names, and fate of those detained, the length of time the ambulance was held, the entity to which it belonged, and the circumstances surrounding the transport of the two bodies.
On the evening of 6 September, activists and local sources reported that villages in the Bani Bakari area of Jabal Habashi District, west of Taiz, had come under shelling.
This information is consistent with broader media reports indicating that villages in the Al-Sharajah and Bani Bakari sub-districts were struck by various types of projectiles, and that this shelling, together with other attacks reported in Taiz on the same day, caused damage to residential buildings and injuries among local residents. SAM is working to identify the impact sites, document damaged homes and the names of those injured, and determine whether any military objectives were present within or near the targeted areas at the time of the shelling.
On the same day, journalist Mohammed Taher reported that the Kalabah, Usayfirah, and Jabal Jarrah neighborhoods inside Taiz city were subjected to shelling attributed to the Houthi group, using projectiles fired from a BMP infantry fighting vehicle and a 23 mm gun from the Sofitel area east of the city.
This account is consistent with reporting by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, citing military sources, which reported that the three neighborhoods were targeted with projectiles fired from a BMP vehicle and a 23 mm gun. The outlet did not report civilian casualties resulting specifically from this incident.
The nature of the areas subjected to shelling raises concerns regarding the safety of residents and warrants verification of the impact points, the intended targets, and the extent to which feasible precautions were taken to avoid harm to civilians.
Also on 6 September, Mohammed Taher reported that villages in the Al-Shaqab area of Sabir Al-Mawadim District, southeast of Taiz city, were subjected to mortar shelling attributed to the Houthi group. Subsequent media reports confirmed that shelling had occurred, while Asharq Al-Awsat reported that villages in Al-Shaqab were shelled alongside other villages in Jabal Habashi and neighborhoods inside Taiz city. SAM continues to document damage and potential casualties and to verify the locations struck by mortar rounds.
Alongside the military escalation, SAM has observed concerning indications that children are being sent into combat. Since the beginning of the escalation, the organization has documented cases involving children recruited by the Houthi group who were subsequently reported killed or captured. SAM is continuing to verify their ages, the circumstances of their recruitment, and the entities and individuals involved in recruiting them or transferring them to the frontlines.
On 6 September, Asharq Al-Awsat published a report citing informed local sources who said that the Houthi group had intensified recruitment and mobilization activities in a number of villages and areas of Ibb Governorate during the preceding hours, amid escalating fighting in Taiz and along the western coast.
According to the report, these activities were concentrated in the districts of Al-Udayn, Far' Al-Udayn, Hazm Al-Udayn, and Mudhaykhirah, and targeted young men as well as children. Some families were reportedly subjected to pressure and threats aimed at compelling them to send their sons to camps and positions affiliated with the group. One resident said supervisors had begun moving among villages and residential areas and urging families to send their sons to the frontlines, while another source reported meetings with local dignitaries, community leaders, and residents of the targeted areas aimed at mobilizing new fighters.
SAM views with grave concern the fact that these reports coincide with cases the organization is documenting involving children who appeared among those killed or captured in the latest fighting. SAM believes this warrants an urgent investigation into the methods used to recruit children, their ages, the entities responsible for recruiting them, and whether they were subjected to coercion, deception, or exploitation through mobilization and indoctrination activities before being transferred to military positions or frontlines.
The incidents documented in recent days indicate an expanding threat to civilians as military operations shift between closely situated areas in western Taiz, with their effects extending to villages, residential neighborhoods, and routes used by civilians and displaced people. The reported targeting of vehicles used to evacuate displaced civilians is of particular concern given that ongoing fighting and shelling have already forced large numbers of residents to flee areas of hostilities.
The reported shelling in Bani Bakari, Al-Shaqab, Kalabah, Usayfirah, and Jabal Jarrah, as well as the reported attack on vehicles carrying displaced civilians in Al-Ghayl, raises serious questions regarding compliance with international humanitarian law, particularly the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack. International humanitarian law prohibits attacks directed against civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate attacks and attacks expected to cause excessive civilian harm in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.
Arrests at checkpoints also raise concerns regarding the safety of civilians and the need to ensure that they are not subjected to arbitrary detention or ill-treatment. The bodies of the dead must be respected and treated with dignity, and their transport must not be obstructed, nor may medical transport be detained without justification consistent with the rules of international humanitarian law.
SAM is paying particular attention to information concerning the recruitment of children and their use in hostilities. Recruiting children under the age of fifteen or using them to participate actively in hostilities constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime where the applicable legal elements are met. Broader international standards also impose obligations to protect persons under the age of eighteen from recruitment and use in armed conflict.
SAM considers the appearance of children among those killed or captured in the fighting, alongside reports from Ibb concerning recruitment campaigns targeting children and young men, to require urgent action to prevent more children from being transferred to frontlines, verify the situation of children already present within armed formations, secure their release and reintegration with their families, provide them with appropriate rehabilitation, and hold accountable those responsible for their recruitment and use.
SAM stresses the need to protect civilians, secure safe routes for families leaving areas of hostilities, ensure that displaced persons and the vehicles transporting them are not targeted, and allow humanitarian assistance to reach affected areas without obstruction. It also calls on all parties to the conflict to refrain from using civilian areas in ways that expose residents to danger and to take all feasible precautions to protect them.
The organization continues to collect information and verify the details of the incidents contained in this briefing, including the identities and number of those injured in the Al-Ghayl incident, those detained along the Al-Mokha–Al-Kadhah road, the impact of the shelling in Bani Bakari, Al-Shaqab, and neighborhoods of Taiz city, as well as the continued documentation of cases involving children recruited or used in the latest fighting.