Over 110 killed in clashes between Yemeni army and Houthis in four days
At least 117 people have been killed in four days of intense clashes between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group in the western provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah, medical officials said on Sunday.
A senior medical official accompanying government forces on the western coast frontlines told Xinhua, speaking on condition of anonymity, that 54 government soldiers had been killed and many others wounded since the fighting began on Thursday.
Two medical sources at Houthi-run hospitals in western Hodeidah province said 63 Houthi members had been killed during the same period, bringing the combined death toll on both sides to 117.
A Yemeni government military official told Xinhua, also on condition of anonymity, that government forces had retaken several key positions in western Taiz in a swift overnight counterattack, hours after Houthi members had captured the positions.
The latest escalation represents some of the heaviest ground fighting in western Yemen in recent years, raising concerns that large-scale hostilities could return more broadly after years of relative calm along many of the country’s frontlines.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized control of Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. The takeover prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.