Civil war in Yemen continues to flare up with fresh attacks

Heavy fighting has broken out in Yemen's Taiz province between the Houthi militia and government troops, escalating the civil war in the country.

The Houthis have attacked government troop positions along the Red Sea coast with rockets, leading to casualties among government soldiers and the downing of drones.

The conflict in Yemen has intensified with fresh airstrikes in the capital Sana'a, escalating fighting in multiple provinces, and threats to key shipping routes in the region.

Heavy fighting has broken out again in Yemen's Taiz province between the Houthi militia and troops loyal to the internationally recognized government, as the civil war intensifies against the backdrop of the Iran war, military sources said on Thursday.

The fighting saw the militia fire more than a dozen rockets at government troop positions along the Red Sea coast, according to military sources.

State-run broadcaster SABA reported "fierce fighting" on several fronts in the west of Taiz and that the army shot down several drones.

Several government soldiers were killed, according to local reports.

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthis have been fighting the Saudi-backed government for more than 10 years.

An unofficial ceasefire had been in place since 2022 and the war seemed to have reached a stalemate. There were no major skirmishes, but there was also no prospect of an end to the war.

"No war, no peace," was how British Yemen expert Helen Lackner summed it up.

Fresh airstrikes hit the Houthi-controlled capital Sana'a in July, and since then fighting has been escalating in Taiz and the provinces of Marib and Hodeidah.

The Houthis attacked targets including the port of Mokha, near the Bab al-Mandab (Gate of Tears) Strait, using rockets and drones.

Should the Houthis capture the city, they could intensify attacks on commercial shipping in the strait or bring traffic there to a halt using explosive-laden boats. The Bab al-Mandab, like the Strait of Hormuz, is a key shipping route for global trade.

In July, the militia announced a shipping blockade targeting Saudi Arabia. Since then, the Houthis have attacked at least three vessels, forced further ships in the region to change course and resumed strikes on southern Saudi Arabia.

Yemen is a deeply impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula. The humanitarian crisis, which has been worsened by years of war, is among the most dire in the world.

More than 22 of Yemen's roughly 35 million inhabitants rely on humanitarian aid. All attempts to resolve the conflict through diplomacy have so far failed.