Aden, September 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
More than 500 soldiers belonging to Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces have been killed and around 1,500 wounded in month-long fighting with the Houthis along the country’s western coast, according to the government-backed National Resistance Forces.
In a statement carried by Al-Joumhouriya TV on Sunday, the forces claimed the casualties were recorded between August 9 and September 10. They also claimed that more than 1,000 Houthi fighters were killed and thousands wounded. The figures could not be independently verified.
The statement said the fighting began with Houthi missile, drone and explosive-boat attacks before spreading from Hays in southern Hodeidah province to multiple fronts in neighbouring southwestern Taiz province.
The latest escalation followed a Houthi offensive launched on September 3, which rapidly altered front lines along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The group reportedly captured several areas previously held by government forces in Hodeidah and Taiz provinces.
The Houthis captured the strategic port city of Mocha on Thursday before advancing south on Friday towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait and taking control of Mayun Island, located in the strategic waterway.
The developments have increased Houthi control around the vital maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Houthi forces subsequently advanced further south towards Lahj province, where government forces had regrouped, bringing the fighting closer to Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Meanwhile, a Houthi military official told Xinhua that 210 Houthi members held by government forces were freed after the group captured a government-run prison in Mocha.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Houthi fighters entered the facility after government forces withdrew. He claimed the prisoners had been confined together in a large hall before the retreat and were subsequently freed by Houthi forces.
The escalation along Yemen’s western coast has further intensified the conflict around the strategically important Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab region.
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