At least 40 Yemeni government soldiers and 50 Houthi fighters have been killed in fierce fighting across the country’s western frontlines since Thursday, reports said today. A medical official on the Red Sea coastal front in Hodeidah province said 14 government soldiers have been killed since the Houthis launched a large-scale offensive early today. Separately, another medical official on the front in the neighbouring Taiz province said 26 government soldiers have been killed in clashes that began Thursday and continued into today.
Meanwhile, medical sources in Houthi-controlled areas said hospitals in Hodeidah have received the bodies of at least 50 Houthi fighters killed on the Hodeidah and Taiz fronts, report said. The escalation intensified today as both sides sent more troops, armoured vehicles and equipment to the two fronts, according to military sources. The latest escalation marks some of the heaviest ground fighting in western Yemen in recent years, raising concerns of a broader return to large-scale hostilities after years of relative calm across many of the country’s frontlines.
Fighting between government forces and the Houthis has intensified across several fronts in recent weeks. The government forces stepped up drone and artillery strikes on Houthi positions, while the group launched missile and drone attacks on government-held areas in Marib and along the western Red Sea coast.
