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Yemeni government forces have made significant gains against the ��������in southwest Yemen after several days of sustained clashes, an army spokesperson said Thursday.

Capta������Abdulbaset al-Bahr said��the most recent confrontations between the two forces were focused on the area around��Jabal Habashi in central Taiz province.��

The army made��“notable and sustained” gains,��taking advantage of retreats by Houthi forces from many positions around the north of Jabal Habashi, extending into Ramadi and al-Rabi’i, he said.

Gains extended up to the border between Taiz and the coastal province of Hodeidah, on the Red Sea. Government forces seized��some of Taiz��province's most densely populated areas, according to al-Bahr.

Government forces will soon retake the main highway between Taiz and��,��now within firing range of their artillery, al-Bahr claimed.

The army also made significant progress to the west of Taiz city, taking several villages, he told news agency Al-Hadath Al-Yemeni.

نائب رئيس شعبة التوجيه المعنوي لمحور العقيد عبدالباسط البحر: اشتعال جميع جبهات القتال بين الجيش اليمني وميليشيا

— الحدث اليمني (@Alhadath_Ymn)

The internationally-recognised government's forces were aided by��considerable aerial��assistance from��the Saudi-led Arab coalition, according to the captain.��

Al-Bahr��did not say how many people were killed and injured in the fighting.

No Houthi spokespeople have yet responded to al-Bahr’s claims, although the air raids on Jabal Habashi were reported by Houthi-run media outlet Al Masirah on Thursday.