Toll from Yemen clashes passes 300 as civilians flee homes

More than 140 combatants were killed in intense clashes between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels in southwest Yemen, according to military sources. The Saudi-backed government forces reported 84 of their troops were killed, primarily in missile attacks, while Houthi military sources claimed 57 of their fighters were killed during the same timeframe. The ongoing conflict marks the deadliest fighting in Yemen since the 2022 ceasefire collapsed in July.

The Houthis launched an offensive on Thursday, aiming to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha and advance towards areas near the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint, the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Since the start of the Houthi assault on Thursday, a total of more than 300 combatants and some civilians have been killed, according to an AFP tally using various military and medical sources.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the fighting reportedly subsided, and government forces managed to establish positions north of Hays, a frontline district less than 30 kilometers inland from the Red Sea coast. However, the Houthis made significant gains, advancing west of Taiz, south of Hays, in their push towards the Bab al-Mandab.

The Bab al-Mandab chokepoint has gained importance as a critical transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest exporter of crude. Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ships has heightened the significance of this strategic passage. In July, a fragile truce between the Houthis and the Yemeni government collapsed after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to the capital Sanaa, triggering a series of attacks.

The ongoing conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis and government troops supported by US ally Saudi Arabia indicates the emergence of a new front in the broader Middle East war, which erupted in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.