Houthi offensive and clashes west of Taiz threaten road to al-Makha

Fierce clashes have broken out across several fronts west of Yemen's Taiz province as Houthi fighters try to advance toward the road linking Taiz city to the Red Sea port of al-Makha. The fighting is centred on an area that government forces say is strategically important because it connects the inland city to the coast. The latest escalation also comes amid reports of missile and drone fire into populated districts in Taiz and Hodeidah.

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Yemen's Army Media Centre said the Houthis fired 14 ballistic missiles and launched drones at districts in Taiz and Hodeidah. It also said the group attacked army positions in the Maqbanah Mountains and tried to infiltrate areas including al-Ahtoub, al-Tuwair, al-Kadha and Jabal Ghabari. Government officials said they regained control of some areas that had fallen under Houthi control, while the army said more than 18 Houthi fighters were killed, wounded or captured.

An unnamed military source told AFP that 13 government forces were killed in the fighting, with most of the deaths reported on the front lines between al-Makha and Taiz. Another source said the rest died in clashes near the Red Sea coast. A field officer in al-Makha said his men were fighting to repel what he described as a major Houthi offensive, and said an attack involving two booby-trapped boats was thwarted near the port.

The Yemen News Agency, Saba, said the army shot down three Houthi drones in Jabal Habashi district and was engaged in heavy clashes on the al-Barah front west of Taiz city. The fighting matters because control of the route between Taiz and al-Makha would affect supply lines into Taiz and could strengthen the Houthis' position on Yemen's western coastline. The Red Sea is also a major maritime corridor for oil exports and other global trade, so any shift in control near the coast has wider security implications.

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The reported attempt to cut the road suggests the offensive is not limited to local ground gains but is tied to broader military positioning. Taiz has long been one of Yemen's most contested provinces, and the western front has remained a key pressure point in the country's wider conflict. The current clashes indicate that front lines there remain active despite periods in which the war has appeared to slow elsewhere.

The involvement of missiles, drones and coastal attacks also shows how the conflict continues to combine conventional ground fighting with longer-range strikes. What remains unclear is the full extent of territorial changes on the ground and whether the reported gains by either side will hold. The casualty figures given by different sources have not been independently verified, and the situation may continue to shift as fighting moves between mountain fronts, road junctions and coastal positions.

The next developments to watch are whether the Houthis can sustain pressure on the Taiz-al-Makha route and whether government forces can keep the road open.

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