About 15 Yemeni government soldiers have been killed in the battle for Hodeidah Articles of Controversy

Yemen’s minister says more than 50 Houthi rebels were killed in the battle for Hodeidah.

A Yemeni government official said at least 15 government soldiers have been killed in fighting with Houthi rebels in Hodeidah province in western Yemen.

Walid al-Qudaimi, the minister of state and minister of cooperation with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, said on Saturday evening that soldiers from the Tihama region were killed in the fighting in the Jabal Dabbas region, while violence is escalating along the western coast of the country.

In X’s letter, al-Qudaimi said the soldiers were killed “to protect their position and their honor” during the war.

He added that more than 50 Houthi fighters were killed in the fighting and many others were injured. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the alleged conflict.

A police officer with pro-government forces in Jabal Dabbas told AFP news agency that 23 other soldiers were injured in the “fierce fighting”.

The official told AFP that the Houthis briefly seized government positions after launching attacks on Friday, before pro-government forces retaliated and retook the area in the early hours of Saturday.

“This was the most dangerous Houthi attack in years,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

He said the Houthi fighters had used artillery, which killed many people, before firing drones and mortars at the site.

The Houthis have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2015.

The group controls the capital Sanaa, as well as many areas in northern Yemen, including the city of Hodeidah on the country’s western coast. The state, which is located in Aden, has large areas in the south.

The front lines have largely stopped since the United Nations agreed on 2022, although recent violence has continued.

The latest fighting came after the Houthis threatened airports and major facilities in Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government.