Renewed fighting in southwestern Yemen has killed more than 60 people as government forces and Houthi rebels battle for control of strategic positions near a key gateway to the Red Sea, according to military and medical sources.
The latest clashes followed some of the deadliest fighting in years on Friday, after a fragile ceasefire agreed in 2022 collapsed in July.
Three Yemeni military sources said 26 government troops were killed during several hours of fighting in the southwest, while Houthi medical and military sources reported the deaths of 31 rebel fighters.
A missile strike also killed six civilians travelling on a bus and wounded seven others, according to a medical source in the government-held city of Taiz. A government official blamed the attack on the Houthis.
A military officer in Taiz said the “coming hours will be decisive” after Houthi fighters captured positions near the city a day earlier.
The officer said reinforcements had arrived from Aden as government forces sought to counter the Houthi offensive, which aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha and advance towards areas near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Friday’s fighting had already claimed 129 lives, according to an AFP tally compiled from multiple sources.
The strategic importance of the Bab al-Mandeb has increased amid disruptions to regional shipping, particularly following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels. The waterway is an important transit route for oil shipments from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter.
A Yemeni military official said three Saudi airstrikes targeted positions in Taiz that had recently been captured by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia is a key supporter of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
The latest escalation follows the collapse in July of a fragile truce between the Houthis and the Yemeni government. The ceasefire deteriorated after the rebels welcomed an Iranian aircraft in the capital, Sanaa, triggering a new wave of attacks.
The renewed fighting marks another potential front in the wider Middle East conflict, with the Houthis also announcing a maritime blockade targeting Saudi Arabia and carrying out attacks against Saudi-linked vessels and territory.
