Houthi assault on Yemeni government forces near Hodeidah is deadliest in years
Heavy fighting in the Jabal Dabbas area of Yemen’s western Hodeidah governorate killed at least 16 internationally recognized government troops and wounded 22 overnight into Saturday, in what a government officer described as the deadliest Houthi attack in years . A Yemeni minister said more than 50 Houthi fighters were also killed. Houthi units used snipers, drones and mortars to seize positions before government forces counterattacked and retook the sites by dawn.
The clash is a notable break in a front that has been largely frozen since a UN-brokered truce in 2022, even as sporadic skirmishes continued. It follows recent Houthi threats against Saudi airports and facilities, and comes as a Saudi-led coalition has pledged force against the group. An escalation around Hodeidah — the Red Sea port through which most of northern Yemen’s food and fuel passes — risks both a wider resumption of the civil war and renewed disruption to Red Sea shipping.