07 September,2026 08:48 AM IST | Aden | mid-day online correspondent
Pic/AFP
At least 117 people have been killed in four days of intense fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group in the western provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah, according to medical officials.
A senior medical official accompanying government forces on the western coast frontlines told Xinhua News Agency, on condition of anonymity, that 54 government soldiers had been killed and many others wounded since the fighting began on Thursday.
Two medical sources at Houthi-run hospitals in western Hodeidah province said 63 Houthi members had been killed during the same period, taking the combined death toll from both sides to 117.
Yemeni government warplanes carried out airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in Hodeidah and Taiz on Friday, supporting government troops engaged in fighting against a major Houthi offensive near the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The airstrikes came as fighting continued across several fronts in the two provinces. The medical official said Houthi fighters had made rapid advances over the previous 24 hours.
According to the official, government warplanes targeted Houthi positions and movements in areas where ground fighting was taking place. Details of the strikes, including any additional casualties, were not immediately available.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, is a major international shipping route and has strategic importance for Yemen and the wider region.
A government military official told Xinhua, also on condition of anonymity, that government forces had recaptured several key positions in western Taiz during a swift overnight counterattack.
The positions were retaken hours after Houthi fighters had seized them, according to the official. The latest clashes have involved multiple fronts across the two western provinces as government forces attempt to halt the Houthi advance.
The reported casualties could not be independently verified. The conflicting sides in Yemen have regularly provided casualty figures that are difficult to verify independently because of restrictions on access to active combat zones.
The latest escalation is among the most intense ground fighting reported in western Yemen in recent years. The renewed clashes have raised concerns that the country could see a return to broader hostilities after a period in which fighting along several frontlines had eased.
The renewed violence comes against the backdrop of Yemen's prolonged political and military conflict, which has drawn in regional powers and contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis.
The fighting has also increased concerns about the security of areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the key maritime routes connecting shipping lanes between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and large parts of northern Yemen. The takeover prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.
(With inputs from IANS)
