Key Takeaways
- Yemeni government forces reported advancing against Houthis in Bab al-Mandab.
- Clashes in the area have killed at least 63 people in the past 24 hours.
- Saudi-led forces support the Yemeni government in the operation.
Yemeni military sources reported that government forces were advancing against the Houthis in areas around the Bab al-Mandab strait, according to AFP. The operation, launched by the Yemeni government to recapture lost territory, has seen significant fighting in the region.
The Houthis confirmed that government forces had attacked in the Bab al-Mandab area but claimed to have repelled the assault, stating that their forces maintain control over the strait and surrounding areas.
Fighting in western Yemen, particularly around the strait, has resulted in at least 63 casualties in the past 24 hours, with 35 members of government forces and 28 Houthis killed, according to military sources from both sides.
On Friday, a Yemeni military source confirmed to AFP that their forces had launched a 'major operation' in the strait region, supported by air power from Saudi Arabia, which backs the Yemeni government.
The Saudi-led coalition has been intensifying its operations, destroying more than 130 Houthi targets in a 'large-scale operation' early on Saturday.
Houthi media reported that enemy strikes had targeted the Bab al-Mandab area and that two people had died in attacks on the airport in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.
The conflict has been ongoing since July, with the Houthi group seizing Yemen’s entire western coastline in a lightning offensive. The Saudi-led coalition has been retaliating with strikes on key Houthi targets inside Yemen.
The renewed fighting has had a significant impact on civilians, with more than 200,000 people displaced and facing humanitarian challenges.
‘Our forces repelled them outside the Bab al-Mandab zone, inflicting heavy losses in personnel and equipment and forcing the survivors to retreat.’
Hizam al-Asad, Member of the Houthis' political bureau
