Yemen clashes kill more than 60 as Taiz and Red Sea gateway see renewed fighting

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in southwest Yemen killed more than 140 combatants between midday Saturday and early Sunday morning, military sources said. Two military officials with the Saudi-backed government forces told AFP that 84 of their troops were killed, mostly in missile attacks, while four Houthi military sources said 57 rebel fighters were killed in the same period.

Fresh Yemen clashes kill more than 60, including 26 soldiers Fighting between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and the country's Houthi rebels killed more than 60 people on Saturday, including civilians, medical and military sources told AFP. The renewed clashes in Yemen's southwest over control of a gateway to the Red Sea came after Friday saw some of the deadliest fighting in years, following the collapse in July of a 2022 ceasefire.  According to three Yemeni military sources, 26 government troops were killed during several hours of fighting in the country's southwest, while medical and military sources from the Iran-backed Houthis said 31 rebel fighters were killed.  One medical source in the government-held city of Taiz said a missile strike also killed six civilians travelling by bus and wounded seven others.  A government official blamed the strike on the bus, travelling between Taiz and the seat of Yemen's internationally recognised government in Aden, on the Houthis. In Taiz, a military officer said the "coming hours will be decisive" after the Houthis seized positions near the city a day earlier. The officer added that reinforcements had been arriving from Aden in response to the Houthi offensive, which aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait. In Hays district, 68 kilometres northwest of Taiz towards the Red Sea coast, AFP journalists saw government forces being ferried to the front lines in pickup trucks, some carrying assault rifles and others with rocket-propelled grenades slung over their shoulders. Rashed Maghari, a Hays resident, said "there has been heavy Houthi shelling on Hays and its residents, but the district is tough" and will be hard to capture. On Friday, the fighting in Yemen killed 129 people, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources.  (Report by AFP)

According to three Yemeni military sources, 26 government troops were killed during several hours of fighting in the country's southwest, while medical and military sources from the Iran-backed Houthis said 31 rebel fighters were killed

Houthi rebel offensive against government forces on west coast leads to some of deadliest clashes in yearsClashes between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthi rebel movement killed more than 60 people, including civilians, as the Houthis pushed forward with a military offensive on Yemen’s western coast.Twenty-six government troops and 31 Houthi fighters were killed during several hours of fighting in the country’s south-west on Saturday, medical and military sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP). A missile strike also killed six civilians and injured seven others travelling by bus in the city of Taiz. Continue reading...

Fighting between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces and the country’s Houthi rebels killed more than 60 people on Saturday, including civilians, medical and military sources told AFP. The renewed clashes in Yemen’s southwest over control of a gateway to the Red Sea came after Friday saw some of the deadliest fighting in years, following the collapse in July of a 2022 ceasefire. According to three Yemeni military sources, 26 government troops were killed during several hours of fighting in the country’s southwest, while medical and military sources from the Houthis said 31 rebel fighters were killed. One medical source in the government-held city of Taiz said a missile strike also killed six civilians travelling by bus and wounded seven others. A government official blamed the strike on the bus, travelling between Taiz and the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government in Aden, on the Houthis. In Taiz, a military officer said the “coming hours will be decisive” after the Houthis seized positions near the city a day earlier. The officer added that reinforcements had been arriving from Aden in response to the Houthi offensive, which aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandeb strait. On Friday, the fighting killed 129 people, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources. With Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ships, the Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint has gained importance as a transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of crude. A military official told AFP on Saturday that three airstrikes by Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the government in Aden, had targeted positions recently captured by the Houthis in Taiz. In July, a fragile truce between the Houthis and Yemen’s government fell apart after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to the capital Sanaa, setting off a spate of attacks. The fighting between the Houthis and government troops supported by US ally Saudi Arabia signals the emergence of a new front in the wider Middle East war, which broke out in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The Houthis have also announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and have begun targeting its ships and territory.