Dubai, Sept 4 (V7N) – Clashes between Yemen's Houthi rebels and government forces have killed 81 combatants since Thursday, according to a tally of figures from two military officials and medical sources in rebel-held territory, as fighting erupted along the Red Sea coast and around the Taiz region.

A military official on the Red Sea coast reported 24 of his men killed, while another in the inland Taiz area said 15 had been killed there. At least 42 Houthi militants were also killed, according to medical sources in areas under their control.

Deadly clashes erupted on Thursday after Houthi forces began a ground assault accompanied by rocket and drone attacks near coastal areas in the Red Sea and around the Taiz region. Military government sources told AFP the rebels were attempting to cut off the key port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, from other government areas, and advance towards areas bordering the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait.

Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be drawn into the Middle East war as the Houthis upended a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government.

The strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha and the Bab al-Mandab strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, are vital for international shipping, including oil tankers. Houthi forces have already been blocking the strait since the onset of the regional conflict, prompting the United States to consider military action to reopen the waterway. Yemen has been embroiled in a long-running conflict for over a decade, with a US-Saudi coalition intervening in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government after the Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa a year earlier. The conflict has killed hundreds of thousands, either directly or indirectly, and displaced millions. A UN-brokered ceasefire had been largely holding since April 2022 until the Houthis broke the agreement in July 2026. The latest escalation threatens to collapse the truce entirely and further destabilise the region.

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