Yemen: 169 Dead in Three-Day Battle for Kahbub Mountains
Houthi and government forces are battling for Yemen's Kahbub mountains above the Red Sea, where up to 169 have died since Sunday, as the toll since August reaches 674 dead and nearly 3,000 wounded.
The past three days have brought Yemen its bloodiest stretch since the Houthis seized most of the Red Sea coast in early September. Since Sunday, September 20, up to 169 people have been killed in fighting for the Kahbub mountain range above the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. About a tenth of the world’s maritime trade passes through that strait, so every new front on this coastline adds further pressure on global energy prices, already rattled by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in a separate conflict between Iran and the United States, a squeeze felt by energy-importing countries such as Serbia.
According to Houthi military officials, at least 118 people have been killed since Sunday in the fighting and in Saudi air and artillery strikes on the provinces of Taiz, Al Jawf, Marib and Saada. Yemeni government sources say at least 36 people have died on their side. The Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi Arabia backed government forces are fighting for the Kahbub mountains in Taiz and Lahij provinces, whose peaks the Houthis are trying to seize after taking the port of Mokha and Mayun island earlier this month.
The offensive in which the Houthis seized the coast has been described as their biggest territorial gain in four years of Yemen’s civil war. As we reported earlier this month, that advance came alongside the Houthis’ first missile strike on Riyadh, intercepted by Saudi air defenses.
Why the Kahbub Mountains Matter for the War
The range overlooks the Red Sea coastline and Mayun island, so capturing it would give the Houthis a commanding position over the surrounding valleys and further cut off Aden, seat of the Yemeni government, from the western coast. Government forces are trying to hold the line on multiple fronts to prevent that outcome and preserve the option of future counterattacks. Analysts on the ground say the Houthis mainly want the mountains to secure the rear of their coastal forces, since holding the heights would shield their positions in Mokha, put pressure on Lahij and, over the longer term, threaten Aden itself.
The past two days have also brought specific, though disputed, details. The Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of killing six civilians, including two children, in a strike on Mokha. The Irish Examiner dates that strike to Tuesday, while Al Jazeera, citing Houthi run Al Masirah television, ties the same death toll, and mentions a woman among the dead as well, to late Monday night. The Houthis further claim a Saudi strike on a prison in Al Jawf province killed nine inmates. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi Arabia carried out 19 air strikes on Taiz, Al Jawf and Marib in a single day.
Yemeni government forces, for their part, say they captured Mount Karfan in Taiz on September 23, killing five Houthi fighters and wounding 20. The chief of staff of the Taiz military front, Major General Abdulaziz al-Majidi, said his troops had achieved what he called “established control” over the mountain after fierce fighting. The Houthis have not yet commented on the claim.
The fighting is unfolding in the shadow of the wider war being waged by the United States and Israel against Iran, now in its seventh month. According to The New York Times, President Donald Trump was ready to order air strikes on the Houthis on Sunday but backed off at the last minute, while Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had earlier pushed for more direct American military involvement.
The humanitarian toll is growing by the day. The World Health Organization says 674 people have been killed in the renewed fighting since August 6, with nearly 3,000 wounded, including 164 dead and 516 wounded between September 13 and 18 alone. More than 158,000 people, or 23,550 families, have been displaced this month across eight provinces, including Aden, Hodeidah and Taiz. About 3,000 civilians have crossed the sea by boat to Djibouti and Somalia in search of safer refuge. More than 18 million Yemenis, roughly half the country’s population, are facing acute food shortages.
The foreign ministers of the G7, the seven leading industrial nations, responded to this picture with a joint statement issued ahead of the United Nations General Assembly session.
“We call on the Houthis to immediately halt all military activity, all threats and attacks on civilian maritime shipping, and to return to the negotiating table in good faith,” the G7 ministers said.
The statement came after the Houthis struck Riyadh earlier for the first time since the recent escalation, while strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure have already wounded dozens of people. Saudi Arabia is for now trying to rally international support, while Washington is refusing to get directly involved in the conflict. The next round of fighting for Kahbub, according to accounts from the ground, is expected within days, since neither side has so far agreed to a pause.
