More than 140 combatants have been killed in renewed fighting between Yemeni government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in southwest Yemen, military sources said.
The clashes, which intensified between midday Saturday and the early hours of Sunday, reportedly left 84 members of the Saudi-backed government forces dead, mostly in missile attacks, while 57 Houthi fighters were also killed, according to sources on both sides.
The latest violence is part of days-long clashes over control of a strategic gateway to the Red Sea and represents the deadliest fighting in Yemen since a ceasefire between the warring parties collapsed in July.
The Houthis launched an offensive on Thursday aimed at cutting off the government-held port city of Mokha, which has been under attack for weeks, and advancing towards areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
A government military official said the Houthis succeeded on Saturday evening in cutting the road linking the strategic city of Taiz to Mokha.
An AFP tally compiled from military and medical sources on both sides put the number of combatants and civilians killed since the Houthi offensive began on Thursday at more than 300.
The fighting has also triggered a fresh humanitarian crisis, forcing families to flee their homes in Maqbanah and Jabal Habashi districts of Taiz governorate.
Displaced families arrived at Al-Bareen camp on Saturday in pickup trucks loaded with blankets and other belongings, where they began erecting makeshift shelters in exposed areas.
Rawdhah Hasan, who fled Maqbanah, described the intensity of the fighting.
“The shooting came at us from above and from below… they surrounded us from every direction, we fled with our children without even putting on our shoes,” she said.
Another displaced resident, Nimah Saif, said some people were killed and others injured during the violence.
“We saw them lying on the ground, but we could not help anyone,” she said, adding, “Now we are stranded here, hungry, with nothing to eat.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an estimated 1,790 households had been displaced following intense shelling and clashes in Maqbanah and Jabal Habashi.
It warned that the violence had also emptied some nearby internally displaced persons’ camps, resulting in what it described as large-scale secondary displacement.
A government military official said fighting had eased in the early hours of Sunday, with government troops establishing positions north of Hays after advancing in the area.
However, the Houthis were reported to have advanced west of Taiz, south of Hays, as they continued their push towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Middle East expert Farea Al-Muslimi of Chatham House said the Houthis were seeking to exploit weaknesses along the Mokha frontline and sever links between Taiz, Bab al-Mandab and Mokha.
He warned that the rebels would likely attempt to seize control of Bab al-Mandab if the opportunity arose.
Adam Baron, a fellow at the US-based think tank New America, said the Houthi offensive had “shattered much of what was left of Yemen’s tenuous ceasefire”.
He warned that the conflict appeared increasingly headed towards further escalation, with few signs of an immediate path back to negotiations.
The strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab has also increased amid disruptions to shipping in the wider region, as the waterway connects Asia and Europe through the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
The latest escalation follows the collapse of a fragile truce between the Houthis and Yemen’s government in July after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to the capital, Sanaa, triggering a new wave of attacks.
The renewed fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and government forces supported by Saudi Arabia also adds another front to the wider Middle East conflict, which intensified following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The Houthis have meanwhile announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and begun targeting Saudi-linked vessels and territory.
