Why is fighting intensifying in Yemen’s Taiz governorate?

What the report says

Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the Houthi movement are fighting for control of Taiz governorate, a strategically important area in the southwest of the country, according to Al Jazeera. The report says Rashad al-Alimi, head of the Saudi Arabia-backed Presidential Leadership Council, announced a major offensive on Sunday aimed at regaining territory, with Taiz City and nearby mountain and road routes now at the center of the clashes.

Al Jazeera said Taiz matters because it is Yemen’s most populous governorate and sits between Houthi-held areas in the north and government-held areas in the south. It also includes the port city of Mocha and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint for Red Sea shipping. The fighting has focused on Jabal Han and other western approaches to Taiz City, where control could shape access to the city and surrounding supply lines.

The article describes the battle as unsettled, with both sides claiming gains but no clear winner. Government forces say they have pushed back Houthi attacks and captured positions, while the Houthis are trying to consolidate recent advances along the Red Sea coast. Al Jazeera noted it could not independently verify some battlefield claims.

The renewed combat is worsening conditions for civilians. The report says residents have faced shelling, displacement, road closures and reduced access to aid and services, while UN agencies have warned about pressure on Yemen’s already fragile health system and wider humanitarian crisis.