More than 300 fighters killed in Yemen clashes over last 4 days, amid Houthi offensive

Iran-backed rebels launched campaign Thursday to cut off port city of Mokha on way to Bab el-Mandeb strait, sparking deadliest fighting since collapse of 2022 truce in July

By AFP 6 September 2026, 7:09 pm

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A Houthi supporter paints his face in green and carries a flag during a rally to mark Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, known as Moulid, in Sanaa, Yemen, August 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Fighting between government forces and Iran-backed Houthis in southwest Yemen has killed more than 300 combatants, as well as some civilians, since the rebels launched an offensive Thursday, according to a tally based on military and medical sources.

Two military officials with the Saudi-backed government forces told AFP that 84 of their troops were killed since midday Saturday, mostly in missile attacks, while four Houthi military sources said 57 rebel fighters were killed in the same period.

Days-long clashes have erupted in Yemen over control of a gateway to the Red Sea in the deadliest fighting in the Arabian Peninsula country since a 2022 ceasefire between the two sides collapsed in July.

Beginning on Thursday, the Houthis launched an offensive aiming to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

One military official with the internationally recognized government based in Aden said fighting had subsided in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The military official said government “forces were able to establish positions for themselves north of Hays after advancing in the area,” referring to a frontline district less than 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) inland from the Red Sea coast.

Internally displaced people in Yemen unload their belongings and set up makeshift homes in the al-Kadah area of the Taiz Governorate, southwestern Yemen, on September 6, 2026, amid clashes between the country’s internationally recognized government and the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group. (AHMAD AL-BASHA/AFP)

But the official added the Houthis had advanced west of Taiz, south of Hays, in their push toward Bab el-Mandeb.

With Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial ships, the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint has gained importance as a transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of crude.

In July, a fragile truce between the Houthis and Yemen’s government fell apart after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to the capital Sanaa, setting off a spate of attacks.

The fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and government troops supported by US ally Saudi Arabia signals the emergence of a new front in the wider Middle East war, which broke out in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

The Houthis have also announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and have begun targeting its ships and territory.