Published Updated

Yemen10 September, 20262 min read

Houthis Battle Saudi-Backed Forces in Yemen, Killing Up to 169

This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.

Houthis seized Mokha port city on the Red Sea coast; government forces withdrew south. Advanced toward Bab al-Mandab Strait, tightening leverage near a major shipping chokepoint.

Read the story
Houthis Battle Saudi-Backed Forces in Yemen, Killing Up to 169
Image: 헤럴드경제
Compared

136 outlets told this the same way.

Scored

France 24 was read line by line by the Watchdog: 4.1. See the score →

Houthis fight for Red Sea heights

Houthis battled Saudi-backed government forces for control of strategic heights on the Red Sea coast in Yemen, with the fighting reported as killing up to 169 people in the last three days. Houthi military officials reported at least 118 people killed in clashes and Saudi air and artillery strikes on Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib and Saada provinces since Sunday, while Yemeni government sources said at least 36 people were killed on their side. The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of striking the port city of Mocha on Tuesday, killing six civilians including two children, and the group also said a Saudi strike on a prison in al-Jawf province killed nine detainees.

The Guardian reported that renewed fighting followed a Houthi offensive three weeks earlier that seized control of much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast from government-aligned forces, and it said the offensive upended global energy markets and expanded the regional scope of the US-Iran war. The Guardian added that about 22 million people need humanitarian assistance and 5.2 million people are already internally displaced, as thousands fled the violence.

Image from Al Jazeera
Image: Al Jazeera
Reporting for this sectionThe Guardian

G7 urges Iran to stop

The G7 foreign ministers urged Iran to stop arming and supporting the Houthis in Yemen, warning that the continuation of this represents a dangerous pattern of escalation that threatens international trade and global stability. “We strongly condemn the ongoing and unacceptable attacks carried out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” “immediately cease all military operations, threats, and attacks on civilian ships, and to return to the political process in good faith.”

The Guardian reported that a UN-brokered ceasefire established in 2022 had largely held until the Houthis launched the current offensive, and it said clashes have focused on the strategic Kahboub mountains near the Red Sea coast as the Houthis seek to consolidate recent territorial gains. The Guardian said control of the mountains would give the Houthis a strategic vantage point over Red Sea coastal areas and would further cut off Aden, the seat of Yemeni government forces, from the western coast.

Image from Al Jazeera
Image: Al Jazeera
Reporting for this sectionOkazThe Guardian

Displacement and shipping stakes

The Guardian said the clashes have killed about 700 people and displaced more than 100,000 people, pushing some Yemenis to flee the fighting via sea. Civilians fled westwards across the Red Sea to Djibouti, while aid groups warned conditions for those remaining in Yemen are deteriorating. Babar Baloch, a UN refugee agency spokesperson, said on Tuesday that displacement inside Yemen could rise to 230,000 people and more than 10,000 could flee to Djibouti if fighting continued.

CNN Arabic said the Houthis campaign appeared to be entering a new phase with a broad assault aimed at isolating government forces in the central Yemen region, and it said Saudi Arabia was deploying fighter jets and missiles to halt the group’s progress south toward the coastal city of Aden. Yemen specialist analyst Mohamed Al-Basha said, “cutting these roads would threaten a major artery of transport and supply that connects areas under government control.”

Reporting for this sectionThe GuardianCNN