SANAA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A fierce battle between Houthi rebels and Yemeni government forces on Yemen's western coast has killed at least 78 from both sides in the last 24 hours, security officials said Saturday.
The clashes which broke out on Friday in the al-Fazah area of Tahita coastal district, some 80km south of the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, also wounded dozens of others and destroyed more than 50 military vehicles.
Nabil al-Soufi, a Yemeni spokesman of the armed forces loyal to the government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, said the government army, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, suffered most of the casualties.
"It began with an ambush by Houthi rebels against Abu Haron Battalion of al-Amalikah (Giant) Brigade, followed by an all-out offensive on the forces stationed in the al-Fazah area," al-Soufi said on his Twitter account.
Meanwhile, pro-government news website almasdaronline.com reported that the targeted battalion was from the government-controlled southern province of Abyan.
A total of 15 soldiers succumbed to their critical injuries late Friday after managing to escape, it added.
But Osama Hasan, a Houthi media spokesman, said on his Twitter account that 238 government soldiers were killed and wounded in the attack.
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting Yemen's Iran-allied Houthi rebels since March 2015, which has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, and displaced over 3 million others.
The coalition has massed hundreds of troops on the Yemeni western coast in preparation for an advance on Hodeidah, a key target considered the only lifeline route of humanitarian aid to the Houthi-controlled northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.
The new escalation comes amid expectations of an official visit by Martin Griffiths, UN special envoy to Yemen, to Houthi-held Sanaa on Saturday to push for resumption of stalled peace talks after three previous failed efforts.