Yemen clashes kill more than 60, sources say

Fighting between Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi rebels killed more than 60 people on Saturday in the country's southwest, including civilians, medical and military sources told AFP.

Three Yemeni military sources said 26 government troops were killed during several hours of fighting. Medical and military sources from the Iran-backed Houthis said 31 rebel fighters were killed.

A medical source in the government-held city of Taiz said a missile strike killed six civilians travelling by bus and wounded seven others. A government official blamed the strike, on a bus travelling between Taiz and Aden, on the Houthis.

The renewed clashes came after fighting on Friday killed 129 people, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources. In Taiz, a military officer said the Houthis had seized positions near the city a day earlier and that reinforcements had been arriving from Aden.

The officer said the Houthi offensive aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha and advance toward areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait. A military official told AFP on Saturday that three Saudi airstrikes had targeted positions recently captured by the Houthis in Taiz.

A fragile 2022 truce between the Houthis and Yemen's government collapsed in July after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to Sanaa, setting off new attacks. The Houthis have also announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and have begun targeting its ships and territory.