Direct proof of use
The clearest public record for 82 mm mortar use by Houthi-aligned forces appears in a January 2019 UN Security Council letter and annex on Hodeidah ceasefire violations. The annex lists Houthi indirect-fire incidents during the Stockholm Agreement period, including attacks at Jabaliyah on 12 January 2019 in which the 10th and 9th brigades were targeted with 82 mm mortar shells.
The same annex records another 82 mm mortar incident at Hays on 15 January 2019, when Houthi forces targeted the 11th brigade. These entries support a conflict-use claim for 82 mm mortar fire, but they do not identify a specific launcher model within the broader 82 mm mortar family.
Sources: UN Security Council Hodeidah Ceasefire Letter
Timeline
Public documentation places 82 mm mortar fire in the conflict after several years of wider mortar and rocket shelling in Yemen. Human Rights Watch reported in July 2015 that pro-Houthi forces repeatedly fired mortar shells and rockets into areas of Aden held by southern resistance committees, including a deadly mortar attack in Dar Saad on 19 July 2015.
In January 2019, during the Hodeidah ceasefire period, the UN Security Council annex recorded repeated Houthi indirect-fire incidents and named 82 mm mortar shells in Jabaliyah and an 82 mm mortar at Hays. Yemeni Archive later concluded that an 81/82 mm mortar shell fired by government forces struck Al Wahda Maternity and Children Hospital in Taiz on 25 February 2022, showing that this mortar-caliber class also appeared outside the Hodeidah front.
Sources: Human Rights Watch Aden Shelling, UN Security Council Hodeidah Ceasefire Letter, Yemeni Archive Al Wahda Hospital
Battlefield role
The documented 82 mm entries describe indirect fire against opposing brigades and resistance forces rather than possession alone. Around Hodeidah, the UN annex presents the 82 mm mortar incidents alongside other Houthi direct- and indirect-fire entries, including 120 mm mortars, machine guns, recoilless rifles, sniper fire, and rockets.
For this catalog record, the supported role is short-range infantry fire support by Houthi-aligned forces. The available public sources do not establish the exact model, supply route, crew, number of launchers, or a comprehensive count of 82 mm mortar attacks in the war.
Sources: UN Security Council Hodeidah Ceasefire Letter
