Fierce fighting in Yemen over control of key strait

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 16.43

 

Intense fighting is raging in Yemen over control of coastal areas along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, an increasingly important shipping lane for global trade since the Strait of Hormuz was blocked by the Iran-backed war. Archive photo. Photo: Abdulnasser Alseddik/AP/TT

More than 140 people have been killed in a day of intense fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Iran-backed Houthi movement.

Sources in the Saudi-backed government told AFP that 84 of their soldiers were killed, mainly in rocket attacks, during fighting from midday on Saturday until Sunday morning. Houthi sources said 57 of their fighters were killed during the same period.

In total, around 300 people have been killed since Thursday, when the Houthi movement launched an offensive to try to surround the government-controlled port city of Mocha. The rebels are also trying to advance towards areas along the coast at the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea.

The shipping lane has become increasingly important since traffic in the Strait of Hormuz was blocked by the Iran war.