Houthi fighters have pushed to seize strategic heights in Yemen to cut off the Red Sea coast from remaining areas held by government forces, Reuters reports.

Five Yemeni military sources told Reuters that the Houthis were now seeking to seize strategic heights, known as the Kahboub Mountains, in two provinces, Taiz and Lahij, which separate the Red Sea coast from the government-held south.

Fighting has centred on the outskirts of the remote mountain Al-Wazi’iyah district in Taiz province, and Ras al-Ara along the Indian Ocean coast between the mouth of the Red Sea that the fighters captured last week and the government’s base in Aden.

The Houthis aim to secure the rear of their forces around the Bab al-Mandab strait leading into the Red Sea by taking control of the heights, according to the sources. That would let them open new fronts and help protect their new positions.