Eight Yemeni soldiers killed in Lahj fighting with Houthis, army says

LAHJ, Yemen — Eight Yemeni government soldiers were killed on the al-Maqatirah front in the southern province of Lahj, the army-affiliated Tur al-Bahah Military Axis said late on Saturday, according to Anadolu Agency.

The unit announced the deaths in a Facebook statement, according to Al Jazeera, as cited by Middle East Eye. It described the dead as "heroes" who fell in battle. The statement gave no further details, Anadolu reported, and there was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The circumstances of the fighting, the date of the deaths and the identities of the soldiers have not been disclosed. The report could not be independently verified.

Other incidents

Earlier, government forces claimed to have killed 12 Houthi fighters in the Maqdaa area of Al-Aqroud in southern Taiz, according to Middle East Eye. That claim has not been independently confirmed, and the Houthis have not responded to it in the sources reviewed.

Separately on Saturday, Houthi shelling killed three civilians, including two women, and wounded five others in separate attacks in neighbouring Taiz province, Anadolu reported, citing a government office.

Background

Anadolu described the recent violence as part of a military escalation that began in July. It called this the most significant since a period of relative calm that followed a UN-brokered truce, which took effect in April 2022.

Yemen has been in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces in September 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.