Amid heavy fighting near the city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen, 45 fighters on both sides were killed on Monday, medical sources said.
“Twenty-five pro-[fugitive president Abd-Rabbu Mansour] Hadi fighters were killed in an ambush laid for them by Houthi and [former president Ali Abdullah] Saleh forces at the Bab al-Mandeb, and 20 Houthi fighters were killed in fighting and coalition airstrikes,” a medic told Reuters by telephone from Taiz, adding that a family of eight were killed in an airstrike on the city.
Residents said Arab warplanes had bombed Houthi militia targets in the city dozens of times on Tuesday.
At least 5,700 Yemenis have been killed during seven months in a civil war that has pitted supporters of the exiled government, backed by a Saudi Arabia-led Arab coalition, against forces loyal to Saleh and Houthi militia.
On Tuesday, Hadi returned to the southern port city of Aden from Saudi Arabia to oversee a campaign to retake the city of Taiz, a presidency official said. Medics in the city say more than 1,600 people have died there.
It was not immediately clear how long Hadi would stay in the country, his second return to Aden since the Saudi-led coalition retook the port city in July.
The coalition has made some progress on the battlefield and took control of Aden in July, but the Houthis still retain control of much of Yemen, despite almost daily air bombardment.
