Yemen attacks Houthis as Turkiye advances Kurdish peace law

Dubai,UPDATED: Aug 8, 2026 16:30 IST

Yemen's military has launched attacks on Houthi rebels in a major escalation, while the United Nations has warned that the country faces a growing risk of a return to large-scale conflict.

In Turkiye, a draft law linked to a Kurdish peace effort has cleared its first stage in parliament. The measure sets out terms for the disarmament of Kurdish militants and the rehabilitation of some former fighters.

In Yemen, the military said its attacks were in response to recent Houthi strikes in central and eastern parts of the country. Col. Majed al-Nazili, spokesperson for Yemen's military, said the strikes targeted the rebels' "sites and capabilities" on multiple front lines, without giving further details. He said the attacks were aimed at defending the military's security.

The fighting marks a major escalation after a truce in 2022 had largely halted hostilities. Yemen's civil war pits the Iran-backed Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition allied with the country's internationally recognised government. On Friday, UN envoy Hans Grundberg urged all sides to show restraint, saying, "Yemen today faces a greater risk of renewed large-scale conflict than at any point since the UN-brokered truce of April 2022."

In Turkiye, a parliamentary committee approved the draft law on Saturday. The bill includes a conditional pardon-like mechanism for thousands of former fighters and is expected to be debated and approved in the general assembly early next week. Last year, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, said it would disarm and disband as part of a peace initiative aimed at ending its decades-long conflict with the Turkish state.

The legislation lays down procedures for the group's disarmament and for the rehabilitation of some PKK members. It would suspend some prison sentences for people convicted of membership of the group and postpone the prosecution of others. The measures would take effect once Turkiye's Security Council confirms that the group has disbanded and surrendered all weapons. The conflict, which began in the 1980s, has killed tens of thousands of people and spread into neighbouring Iraq and Syria. Turkiye and its Western allies consider the PKK a terrorist organisation.

Overall, the developments point to rising tensions in Yemen despite UN calls for restraint, while in Turkiye, the Kurdish peace process has moved forward with the approval of a draft law in parliament.

With PTI Inputs

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