Daijiworld Media Network - Sanaa
Sanaa, Oct 10: Saudi warplanes launched fresh airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in northwestern Yemen on Saturday, as fighting intensified between Houthi rebels and government forces around the southwestern city of Taiz, according to Houthi-run media and a government military source.
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that six airstrikes hit the Abs district in Hajjah province, injuring three people and heavily bombing villages in the Bani Hatab area. The channel alleged that “cluster munitions” were used in some of the strikes.
In the neighbouring Red Sea province of Hodeidah, Saudi warplanes struck a station belonging to the Yemen Petroleum Company in the Bajil district, al-Masirah reported. No immediate casualties were reported, and Saudi Arabia had not commented on the strike, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The latest airstrikes came amid intensifying fighting around Taiz, where recent Houthi advances have increased pressure on government forces defending the city and disrupted key roads connecting it with government-held areas in southern Yemen.
A government military source told Xinhua on Saturday that fierce clashes were underway in Al-Shaqab in the Sabir al-Mawadim district, south of Taiz, as Houthi forces continued their advance towards Jabal Sabir, a strategic mountain overlooking the city.
“The battle for Jabal Sabir is critical because its heights dominate the Taiz city and the surrounding areas,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
“Government forces are trying to prevent the Houthis from gaining positions that would give them a major advantage over the city,” the source added.
The fighting is part of a broader escalation in southwestern Yemen, where government forces, backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, have been attempting to reverse recent Houthi gains, including those around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government, which is now based in the southern port city of Aden.