Members of the Houthi security forces are sitting on a rock at a gathering organized to commemorate the Mawlid — marking the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth — in Sana’a, Yemen, on Aug. 25, 2026. (Credit: Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)
More than 120 people have been killed since Thursday in clashes between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels in Yemen — the deadliest in years — according to a new toll provided to AFP on Friday by military and medical sources.
The death toll among government troops and their allies has risen from 39 to 66, said a military official who requested anonymity, whilst medical and security sources reported at least 62 deaths on the Houthi side. One civilian was also killed, according to another medical source.
On Thursday, the Houthis launched a ground offensive, supported by rocket fire and drone attacks, near the Red Sea coast and in the Taiz region, further inland. A military source accused the rebels of seeking to seize areas bordering the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a strategic waterway used to link Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal.
A military official stationed on the Red Sea coast and another in the Taiz region reported on Friday that 24 and 15 members of pro-government forces respectively had been killed in the fighting since Thursday.
On the rebel side, at least 42 fighters were killed, according to medical sources in areas under Houthi control. Neither the rebels nor the government have yet released an official casualty figure.
Government military sources told AFP that, as part of their offensive, the rebels were attempting to isolate the port city of Mokha — situated north of the strait and under attack for several weeks — from the rest of the government-controlled areas. According to these sources, the Houthis have seized strategic positions on the high ground overlooking government positions near the Red Sea and the coastal town of al-Khokha, as well as the town of Taiz. These positions could enable them to target ships, the sources added.
Government reinforcements
To counter the Houthi offensive and attempt to regain control of the area, the government has sent reinforcements to Taiz from Aden. According to an official based in Aden, these reinforcements were mobilized at the request of Saudi Arabia, an ally of the Yemeni government.
The Houthis do not currently hold any areas directly overlooking Bab al-Mandeb, but they do control the port city of Hodeida, north of Mokha.
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait is all the more strategic for Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, as it has become the only accessible sea route since Iran began blocking the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, at the start of the war in the Middle East in late February.
In July, the Houthis announced their intention to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, and have since claimed responsibility for several attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
Yemen was the scene of a devastating conflict between government forces, backed by Riyadh, and Houthi rebels between 2014 and 2022, when a cease-fire came into effect.
It had been drawn back into the war in July, becoming the latest country to be drawn into the regional conflict in the Middle East. Air strikes attributed to Riyadh then targeted Sana’a airport, which was in Houthi hands, where Iran had sent a plane carrying a rebel delegation without seeking authorization from the kingdom, which controls Yemeni airspace.
Since then, the rebels have stepped up attacks on military sites and areas controlled by the government recognized by the international community.
The war in Yemen was triggered by a Houthi offensive launched from their stronghold in the north of the country near the Saudi border, during which they seized control of vast swathes of territory, including the capital, Sana’a.
The weakened government, which had taken refuge in Aden (in the south), received assistance in 2015 from a military coalition led by Riyadh.
