Deadly clashes in Yemen between Houthis and govt forces

Yemen's government and the Iran-backed Houthis engaged in deadly clashes on Thursday, sources from both sides said. A military source accused the rebels of seeking to advance towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait. Two Yemeni military sources said 13 government forces had been killed, including two officers, while a source close to the Houthis said at least 11 rebels had died.

Why are the Houthis fighting Yemen's government now?

The Houthis launched a broad offensive along frontlines on the western Red Sea coast on Thursday, aiming to advance towards Bab al-Mandab and areas held by government forces. Yemen, already embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, was pulled further into the wider Middle East war in July when the Houthis abandoned a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government. With Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab has become an increasingly important transit route for Saudi oil.

Where is the fighting concentrated?

A second Yemeni government source said the Houthis were trying to close in on the Red Sea port city of Mokha by cutting the road linking it to Taiz further inland. Most of the deaths occurred along the frontlines between Mokha and Taiz, with the rest killed in clashes near the Red Sea coast. Neither the Yemeni government nor the Houthis have issued an official death toll.

The narrow Bab al-Mandab waterway connects the Red Sea, and via the Suez Canal the Mediterranean, to the Indian Ocean. The Houthis do not control the coastal areas bordering the strait, but they hold the key port city of Hodeida to the north of Mokha. They have repeatedly attacked Saudi ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks and have disrupted shipping through the strait since the Gaza war began in 2023.

What has been reported from the frontlines?

Yemen's official news agency Saba reported fierce fighting between government forces and the rebels west of Taiz, alongside Houthi missile and drone fire. Saba described sustained escalation by Houthi forces across several battlefronts west of Taiz and along the West Coast. A field officer in Mokha told AFP his men were fighting fiercely to repel the offensive and said they had thwarted an attack involving two booby-trapped boats that exploded near the port.

How did the current escalation begin?

Last month, Yemen's information minister Moammar al-Eryani warned that the Houthis were plotting to seize land along the Bab al-Mandab strait to further threaten the shipping route. Three Houthi military sources told AFP at the time that their group was preparing an operation to seize areas south of Hodeida. In July, a fragile truce between the two sides collapsed after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to Yemen's capital Sanaa, triggering a new spate of attacks and a Houthi maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia's ships and territory.