Escalated fighting in Yemen – over 100 reported dead

 

TT

 

Published 14.48

 

Houthi supporters during a celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday in Sanaa in August. Photo: Osamah Abdulrahman/AP/TT

The long-running conflict in Yemen has flared up again. Over 100 people are reported to have been killed.

At least 120 fighters from both sides have been killed in clashes between the Iran-backed Houthi movement and Saudi-backed government forces, according to sources to AFP.

A Houthi source confirmed to Al Jazeera that over 100 have been killed in the past 48 hours.

The fighting began when the Houthis launched an attack with ground forces, rockets and drones south of Houthi-controlled al-Hudaydah, targeting the government-controlled coastal city of Mocha.

The warring sides are competing for control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, which has become an increasingly important shipping lane since the Iran-Iraq war cut off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

A fragile ceasefire between the Houthi movement and Yemen’s government collapsed in July. The country’s civil war has been going on for more than a decade.