2026年9月27日，上外中东研究所丁隆教授就也门局势接受China Daily采访（见China Daily2026年9月28日第12版），全文如下：
Yemen flare-up fuels regional stability strains
Yemen's Houthi forces have intensified clashes with Yemeni government forces on multiple fronts, while launching renewed missile and drone attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia. The escalation has caused civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure, further worsening the country's humanitarian crisis.
Analysts said the latest flare-up reflects not only intensifying internal divisions and infighting in Yemen, but also the broader security challenges facing the Middle East amid heightened regional tensions and rivalry among major regional powers.
At least seven people were killed and 40 others wounded in airstrikes in Yemen's southwestern province of Taiz on Sunday, Houthi-run media reported.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said that warplanes struck shops at the Central Market in Al-Ta'iziyah district, east of Taiz city, describing the casualties as civilians and blaming Saudi Arabia for the attack.
Yemeni government forces gave a different account, saying in a statement on social media platform X that our warplanes launched strikes targeting a Houthi military camp and armored vehicles in the same area.
On Saturday, the Yemeni government forces said that warplanes struck Houthi supply lines, reinforcements, and weapons depots across the southwestern province of Taiz, leaving dozens of fighters killed or wounded.
In a statement on social media platform X, the Yemeni Armed Forces Media Center cited a government military source as saying that warplanes struck a Houthi supply convoy on Al-Sitteen Street, north of Taiz city, scoring direct hits.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Saturday that Saudi warplanes had carried out 27 airstrikes across six Yemeni provinces over the previous 24 hours.
Sarea said the latest attacks brought the Houthi tally of Saudi air and missile strikes since the current snarl to 1,059.
Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group has intensified across Taiz and Lahj recently after the group seized the strategic port city of Mocha and Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait earlier this month.
Yemen's conflict erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Wang Zezhuang, professor at the Institute of International and Regional Studies and director of the Iranian Studies Center at Beijing Language and Culture University, said the immediate trigger for the rapid escalation of the conflict in Yemen was the breakdown of the fragile equilibrium that had largely held since the 2022 truce.
Houthi forces and the Yemeni government have yet to resolve a range of outstanding issues, including power-sharing arrangements, the integration of armed groups, the management of ports, the distribution of oil revenues, the payment of public-sector salaries and the reopening of roads, he said.
In practice, the so-called ceasefire has not brought an end to the conflict, but has shifted much of the confrontation away from the traditional front lines toward economic and political arenas, including blockades, fiscal disputes and military deterrence, Wang said. As efforts to advance a comprehensive political settlement have stalled, the Houthis have increasingly turned to military pressure to strengthen their position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.
He said that at a deeper level, Yemen's war has never been simply a confrontation between the government and anti-government forces.
Long-standing hostilities
The conflict is rooted in longstanding tensions between the north and south, disputes over the distribution of power between central and local authorities, and competing interests over strategic economic assets, including ports, oil and gas resources, and fiscal revenues, he added.
Ding Long, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University's Middle East Studies Institute, said the Houthi forces also pose a direct security challenge to Saudi Arabia.
In recent months, Houthis have repeatedly launched missile and drone attacks targeting Riyadh and key Saudi energy infrastructure. Such attacks have raised concerns over the security of the country's major population centers and energy assets, he said.
The Houthi forces have effectively taken control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, he said, adding that while they are currently targeting only Saudi ships, in reality, very few vessels from other countries would take risks and pass through the strait.
The shipping route through the waterway, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal accounts for about 12 percent of global cargo traffic, he said. If this route becomes unsafe, it could significantly hinder Saudi oil exports and pose a serious threat to the security of global supply chains, Ding said.
Wang added that an escalation of the conflicts in Yemen could further deepen tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Although the two sides continue to maintain diplomatic communication, the Houthis' escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia could further fuel Saudi concerns over Iran's support for regional armed groups, thereby narrowing the room for diplomatic mediation, he said.
As the conflict in Yemen escalates, its impact on the security of global energy supplies is becoming increasingly apparent, he said.
This not only places Saudi Arabia in a dilemma between escalating its response and exercising restraint, but also poses a direct challenge to the Saudi-Iranian reconciliation that has taken shape in recent years, putting the already fragile security order in the Middle East to a comprehensive test, Wang added.
来源：China Daily
（本文观点仅为作者或被访者个人观点，不代表本研究机构立场）
