Yemeni forces report ‘heavy losses’ among Houthis in Taiz clashes

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - TAIZ — Yemeni government forces said Sunday they inflicted “heavy losses” on the Houthis during fierce clashes in the southwestern province of Taiz.

The government-aligned National Resistance Forces said its troops were engaged in intense fighting with Houthi forces in the Al-Kadhah sector in western Taiz.

The forces said the Houthis suffered “heavy losses” in the clashes but did not provide details on casualties or equipment losses.

The Al-Kadhah front is considered strategically important because it lies along a route linking Taiz with the Red Sea port city of Mokha.

The fighting comes amid a broader escalation between government forces and the Houthis across several fronts in recent weeks.

On Saturday, government forces said they had made battlefield advances in the western provinces of Taiz and Al-Hudaydah and captured dozens of Houthi fighters.

The renewed fighting follows an escalation in reciprocal attacks since July, ending a period of relative calm that had largely prevailed along Yemen’s front lines since a UN-brokered truce took effect in April 2022.

The Houthis have controlled the capital Sanaa and several other cities since September 2014, while Yemen’s internationally recognized government and allied forces control large areas in the south, east and west.