Updated

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi fighters has surged around the southwestern city of Taiz, with the Yemeni army claiming more than 200 Houthi fighters killed or wounded in clashes on multiple fronts. The Houthis have besieged Taiz, prompting the EU to call for the siege to be lifted to allow humanitarian aid in, and Yemen's government to urge the UN Security Council to take 'urgent' action, warning more than four million people are threatened by the escalation. Aid groups, including the Red Cross, say Yemeni hospitals in Taiz, Marib and along the Red Sea coast are overwhelmed by a surge in war casualties, some admitting more than 700 wounded in a week, warning of a looming 'humanitarian catastrophe' as nearly a million people are cut off from food aid.