Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels are clashing for control of the strategic Kahboub Mountains overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The renewed hostilities have displaced over 158,000 people and killed at least 674 individuals as regional tensions mount following reports that Washington briefly considered direct military intervention.
Fighting across Yemen has escalated sharply as Houthi forces push to capture key highland positions that would sever the Red Sea coast from remaining government-held territory in the south. The ground offensive follows a rapid advance this month that saw the Iran-aligned group seize the Red Sea port city of Mocha and strategic Perim Island, placing them in a position to threaten vital international shipping lanes.
The Battle for Kahboub Mountain and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait
Clashes around the Kahboub Mountains in Taiz and Lahj provinces have raged for multiple days as the Houthis attempt to secure high ground overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and Mayyun Island. Control of these heights would allow the militia to secure its rear guard and prevent government forces from mounting a counteroffensive along the coast.
A Yemeni government official speaking anonymously stated that Houthi assaults on Kahbub had failed to advance even an inch despite heavy deployments of personnel and military hardware. Local troops defending the sector are heavily reliant on their familiarity with the rugged terrain of hills, mountains, and valleys.
The fighting is flaring up in Al-Madaribah, and the militia has not been able to advance even an inch. The battle has been raging for four days, and the militia has lost many fighters and pieces of equipment.
Yemeni government official, via Eurasiareview
Government forces have responded with extensive airstrikes targeting Houthi reinforcements, trenches, and vehicles along the Red Sea corridor. Army units reported striking Houthi movements southeast of Taiz and along the Al-Bareh–Mokha road, alongside a foiled attack in the Jabal Habashi district.
Washington Rebuffs Riyadh as Conflict Toll Mounts
The battlefield escalation coincides with heightened diplomatic friction involving the United States and Saudi Arabia. Regional reports indicated that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pressed Washington for direct military support against the Houthis, whose recent drone and missile activities have extended deep into Saudi territory, including an apparent strike near the airport in Riyadh.
According to reporting from The New York Times, the Trump administration prepared air attacks on Sunday following renewed pleas from Riyadh, only for President Donald Trump to call off the operation at the last minute while munitions were already being loaded onto aircraft.
Analysts note that Washington remains hesitant to embroil itself in a fresh military commitment in a region where armed forces are already strained. Jason Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, explained that U.S. forces have expended significant quantities of higher-end munitions and need to replenish interceptor stockpiles.
President Trump was put in a very difficult position of whether to come to the aid of a world leader who he is trying to garner good relations with, but also whether to add another very difficult dimension militarily in a region where the U.S. is already pretty bogged down.
Jason Campbell, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, via Aljazeera
Humanitarian Crisis and Severe Displacement Across Governorates
The human cost of the renewed conflict continues to climb as basic infrastructure fractures and food insecurity deepens across the country. The World Health Organization reported that 674 people have been killed and nearly 3,000 injured since August 6, with fatalities mounting rapidly during mid-September surges.
Displacement figures compiled by Yemen’s Executive Unit for the Management of Displaced Persons Camps indicate that more than 158,000 people fled their homes across eight governorates, including Aden, Hodeidah, and Taiz. Thousands of additional residents have crossed the Red Sea by boat toward Africa, while acute food insecurity already impacts more than 18 million Yemenis.
Government Strategy and Leadership Response
Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi maintained during a meeting in Riyadh with outgoing French Ambassador Catherine Corm-Kammoun that Houthi territorial gains along the western coast are temporary. Al-Alimi asserted that state forces would eventually regain the initiative and recapture lost territory, recalling that government forces previously recovered Aden and roughly 70 percent of the country following the initial 2014 fall of Sanaa.
Meanwhile, Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi issued warnings against any joint U.S. and Saudi escalation, cautioning external powers against intervening in the conflict. As fighting persists across multiple frontlines in Taiz, Marib, Lahj, and Al-Bayda, both sides appear entrenched, with the strategic mountain passes remaining the primary prize in an increasingly volatile Red Sea corridor.