Yemeni forces capture strategic district in Taiz as clashes kill over 60

More than 60 people, including a significant number of civilians, were killed on Monday as fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels intensified in the southern city of Taiz, according to local health officials and eyewitnesses. The death toll, which includes women and children, was reported after heavy exchanges of artillery and small‑arms fire erupted in several neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts, where both sides have vied for control of strategic roadways and supply routes.

The clashes form part of a broader escalation in the protracted Yemeni civil war, which began in 2014 when the Houthi movement seized the capital, Sanaa, prompting a Saudi‑backed coalition to intervene on behalf of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Taiz, Yemen’s third‑largest city, has been a focal point of the conflict due to its location on the main north‑south highway and its mixed‑loyalty population. United Nations agencies have warned that the renewed fighting threatens to exacerbate an already dire humanitarian situation, with thousands of residents displaced and essential services disrupted.

International observers called for an immediate cease‑fire and unhindered access for humanitarian aid, emphasizing that further civilian casualties could deepen the crisis and hinder any prospects for a negotiated settlement. The latest surge in violence underscores the fragility of the cease‑fire arrangements that have intermittently held in other parts of the country, highlighting the urgent need for renewed diplomatic engagement.