More than 300 fighters and civilians have been killed in renewed fighting in southwest Yemen after the Houthis launched a major offensive targeting a key government supply route near the Red Sea coast and the Bab el Mandeb Strait, according to an AFP tally.
The fighting has centered on western Taiz and southern Hodeidah, where Houthi forces have sought to cut the main supply route between the city of Taiz and the government-held port city of Mokha.
Rebel forces succeeded in severing the strategic highway as part of an effort to advance toward the Bab el Mandeb Strait, a vital global shipping route at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, military officials said.
Two military officials with Yemeni government forces told AFP that 84 troops were killed between midday Saturday and early Sunday morning, most of them in missile attacks. Four Houthi military sources said 57 militia fighters were killed during the same period.
The deaths pushed the overall toll from the renewed fighting above 300, including combatants and civilians, according to an AFP tally. The current violence began with a large-scale Houthi push in the southwest. Fighting in July ended a ceasefire between the Houthis and Yemeni forces that had been in effect since 2022. Escalating battles have also displaced thousands of civilians from affected areas.
Nearly 1,800 households have been forced from their homes by heavy artillery fire and ground fighting, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Civilians sought shelter Saturday at Al-Bareen camp for internally displaced people. On Sunday, AFP journalists saw additional displaced residents arriving at another camp in the area and setting up shelters after bringing mattresses, livestock, and other possessions with them.
