Yemen Fighting: 117 Killed in Four Days as Government Forces Clash With Houthis

September 7, 2026

Aden: At least 117 people have been killed in four days of intense fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group in the western provinces of Taiz and Hodeidah, according to medical officials.

The clashes began on Thursday as Houthi fighters launched a major offensive near the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait. A senior medical official accompanying government forces on the western coast said 54 government soldiers had been killed and several others wounded since the fighting began.

Two medical sources at Houthi-run hospitals in western Hodeidah said 63 Houthi members had also been killed during the same period, taking the reported combined death toll to 117.

Government launches airstrikes

Yemeni government warplanes carried out airstrikes on Houthi-held areas of Hodeidah and Taiz on Friday, providing air support to government forces battling the Houthi offensive.

The strikes reportedly targeted Houthi positions and movements in areas where ground fighting was underway. Details about casualties from the airstrikes were not immediately available.

A government military official said government troops also recaptured several key positions in western Taiz during an overnight counterattack, hours after Houthi fighters had taken control of them.

Fears of wider escalation

The latest clashes are among the heaviest ground fighting reported in western Yemen in recent years, raising concerns that large-scale hostilities could return to frontlines that had experienced relative calm.

The renewed fighting comes amid the country’s prolonged conflict, which began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen.

In 2015, a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, further intensifying the conflict.

The latest escalation around Taiz and Hodeidah, particularly near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, has renewed concerns over the security situation in western Yemen and the possibility of further fighting.