Sanaa: Forces of the Saudi Arabian backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) of Yemen, which is the internationally recognised government of the country, says they are facing intense Houthi attacks on the city of Taiz, which is Yemen's third largest city and sits astride the strategic road from Sanaa to Aden.
Pressure has been increasing on Taiz since Monday when 13 PLC soldiers were killed in clashes with Houthi fighters pressing on the city. Saudi airstrikes relieved pressure for a time but the Houthis have redoubled their efforts to take the city in the last two days. Reports indicate that they are now targeting the Hejat al Abd, a strategic mountain pass that allows PLC resupply into Taiz and Aden further south.
The attacks come on the heels of spectacular strategic gains by the Houthis, who just days ago captured the strategic red sea port of Mocka and completed a drive south all the way to Yemen's southern coast, securing the Bab el Mandeb strait as well as several islands within the Red Sea.
Taking Taiz would a give the Houthis control of Yemen's third largest city and allow them to press on the PLC capital at Aden from both the west and the north, putting the PLC at a significant disadvantage, with the government still reeling from the fall of its strongholds on the west coast.
US president Donald Trump previously declined to intervene despite please from Saudi Arabia for airstrikes on Houthi positions. The Houthis said in August they would begin targeting Saudi Arabian flagged oil tankers in the Red Sea and recently launched drone and missile strikes on strategic military sites inside Saudi territory.
