At least 48 people have been killed in the past 24 hours in fighting in southern Yemen between government forces and the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement. Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported this, citing military sources on both sides.
According to government sources, 17 soldiers were killed in the clashes. Ansar Allah sources, meanwhile, reported the deaths of 31 of their fighters.
The fighting is taking place on the border between the provinces of Lahj and Taiz. Government sources say the troops have recaptured about half of the positions seized by the movement the day before. Ansar Allah sources, for their part, told AFP that their fighters were advancing on the border between Lahj and Taiz.
In Yemen, fighting has been ongoing between Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis since August 2014. The situation escalated sharply in early September, when the Ansar Allah movement launched an offensive in the southwest of the country. Simultaneously with the ground offensive, the Houthis began carrying out missile and drone strikes on the Red Sea coast and the outskirts of Taiz, seeking to cut off access to Mocha and advance towards areas located near the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait. On September 12, Khuzam al-Assad, a member of the Ansar Allah political bureau, confirmed to TASS that the Houthis had completed their operation to establish control over territories leading to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in western Yemen.