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At least 81 people have been killed in clashes between Yemen’s Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces as the Iran-backed group advances toward territory bordering the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, military and medical sources said Friday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
Fighting erupted Thursday after the Houthis launched a ground assault supported by rocket and drone attacks near coastal areas as they sought to expand their position toward the narrow waterway at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Military sources told AFP that the offensive aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, which has been under fire for weeks, and advance toward areas bordering Bab al-Mandab.
A military official on the coast said 24 government troops had been killed, while another official in the Taiz area reported 15 deaths. Medical sources in Houthi-controlled areas said at least 42 Houthi militants were also killed.
The Houthis have captured elevated sites overlooking government positions near the Red Sea, the coastal town of Khokha and Taiz city farther inland, according to a military source and a Taiz official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.
The officials said the positions could allow the Houthis to target ships.
A Yemeni official in Aden, where the internationally backed government has been based since it was driven from Houthi-held Sanaa in 2014, said the group is seeking to control hills overlooking Bab al-Mandab and Mokha before attacking coastal areas.
The government has sent reinforcements from Aden to Taiz on Saudi orders, the official said.
The Houthis do not currently control territory directly bordering Bab el-Mandeb but hold the key port city of Hodeida, north of Mokha.
The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi ships in the Red Sea in recent weeks. The route has gained greater importance for oil exports after Iran largely halted shipments from the Gulf by blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait connects the Red Sea, and through the Suez Canal the Mediterranean, with the Indian Ocean. It has become an increasingly important transit route for Saudi oil following Iran’s closure of Hormuz.
The Houthis have disrupted shipping in the Red Sea with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war began in 2023 and are now seeking to strengthen their position along one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
A fragile truce between the Houthis and Yemen’s government collapsed in July after the rebels welcomed an Iranian aircraft to Sanaa, triggering a new series of attacks.
The Houthis later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began attacking Saudi ships and territory as Yemen, after more than a decade of civil conflict, became drawn further into the wider Middle East war.
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