63 killed in Yemen fighting as Houthis, Saudi-backed forces clash

Sanaa (TIP): Fighting between Yemen’s Houthi rebels and government forces backed by Saudi Arabia has killed 63 people over the past 24 hours, AFP reported, citing military sources from both sides on Thursday, Sept 17.
A Yemeni government official said at least 23 government soldiers were killed in missile and drone attacks carried out by the Iran-backed Houthis in two southwestern provinces.
Meanwhile, Houthi military sources said 40 of their fighters had been killed in Saudi airstrikes and ground clashes.
The Houthis have seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline since last week as part of a rapid advance. The group has claimed that the Saudi Air Force has carried out hundreds of strikes in Yemen in recent days, while the Houthis have responded by launching missiles and drones at targets across the border.
On Wednesday, Sept 16, the Houthis also claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet. Video released by the group overnight showed fighters at what appeared to be the charred crash site, shouting “Allahu Akbar” and displaying a section of an aircraft wing bearing Saudi insignia.
The widening conflict involving Yemen and Saudi Arabia comes amid the broader West Asia war and risks further aggravating a global energy supply shortage triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran in February.
Global crude prices eased slightly on Thursday but remain well above $100 a barrel after shooting to the highest levels since May. The cost of fuel for consumers has risen even more sharply, with the average retail price for diesel in the United States setting a new record on Thursday just shy of $6.40 a gallon.
US President Donald Trump has so far rebuffed pleas from the Saudis for military support fighting the Houthis, who agreed a ceasefire with the United States last year after Washington bombed the group for two months.
“Well, hopefully we are towards the end of the war,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday. He said the Iranians “want to make a deal. We’ll see how that works out.”
No negotiations between ?the United States and Iran to end the war have been held since an interim agreement reached in June collapsed within weeks.
The US Navy is trying to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the outlet to the Gulf along Iran’s coast, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the war, and is also imposing a blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran says the strait is closed and will remain shut until Washington lifts the blockade. It is seeking an agreement with neighbouring Gulf states that would let it collect fees from ships passing ?through the strait.
War in Yemen and attacks on Saudi Arabia have jeopardised the main alternative route for Gulf oil, with the Houthis capturing the Red Sea coast and islands inside the Bab el-Mandeb, or “Gate of Tears”, the strait at its mouth.