TAIZ, Yemen: Yemen clashes have killed more than 300 combatants and civilians since September 3 as Houthi forces push toward strategic areas near the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Two officials with Yemen’s internationally recognised, Aden-based government said 84 government troops were killed between midday Saturday and early Sunday, mostly in missile attacks. Four Houthi military sources reported 57 rebel deaths during the same period.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa, launched the offensive Thursday with the stated military objective of isolating the government-held port of Mokha and advancing toward the Bab al-Mandab. A government military official told AFP that Houthi forces cut the main road linking Taiz and Mokha on Saturday evening.
Fighting has concentrated in western Taiz and areas near southern Hodeidah. Government forces separately reported advances north of Hays, while Houthi units pushed west of Taiz toward the Red Sea corridor.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an estimated 1,790 households had been displaced since September 3 by intense shelling and fighting in the Maqbanah and Jabal Habashi districts of Taiz.
The United Nations said it was deeply concerned about the escalation and urged both sides to exercise restraint, warning of severe political, economic and security consequences for Yemen.
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The latest fighting is the deadliest flare-up since the 2022 truce collapsed in July 2026. Bab al-Mandab, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, is a major shipping route connecting the Gulf of Aden with the Suez Canal.
