Sanaa, September 19, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
At least 44 people were killed in fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group over the past 24 hours, according to military sources from both sides.
A government military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that intense clashes were underway across southwestern Taiz and Lahj provinces, with both sides sending reinforcements to contested fronts stretching towards the key waterway.
In Taiz, fierce fighting continued in the Al-Kadha and Al-Wazi’iyah areas, where government forces reportedly repelled several Houthi attacks. The clashes left six government soldiers and 11 Houthi fighters dead, according to the source.
“The Houthis sent in large reinforcements and tried to break through our defensive lines at several positions, but the attacks were repelled,” the source said.
Further south, another government military official told Xinhua that fighting was underway around the Kahbub mountain area in Lahj, where the two sides are battling for control of strategic high ground overlooking approaches to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The official said 12 government soldiers were killed in fighting on the Kahbub front over the past 24 hours.
A Houthi military source, meanwhile, told Xinhua that 15 Houthi fighters, including a commander, were killed in the fighting in Kahbub during the same period.
The latest clashes follow major Houthi gains along Yemen’s southwestern Red Sea coast earlier this month. The group captured the strategic port city of Mocha on September 10 before advancing south towards Bab al-Mandeb and taking Mayyun, also known as Perim Island, in the middle of the strait on September 11.
Yemen’s conflict erupted in late 2014 after the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
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