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"This is the first drone," said the soldier accompanying us in south-western Yemen.
asserted
soldier → say → Yemen
"It's usually followed by an attack."
asserted
It → follow → attack
The buzzing sound overhead got louder as we took cover under the bushes, before climbing back into the vehicle and driving away.
Within about 10 minutes, the loud thuds of strikes followed, one after another, though it was unclear where they landed.
uncertain
they → buzz → another
It is hard to tell where the front line begins in the mountains south-west of the city of Taiz.
asserted
line → tell → Taiz
Saudi-backed pro-government forces are battling to push back Houthi fighters, who swept down the coast of the Red Sea earlier this month, taking control of a key shipping chokepoint and escalating Yemen's civil war.
asserted
who → back → war
We travelled with government forces from Taiz through checkpoints to the line where their control ends and no man's land begins, in order to see the fighting up close.
asserted
land → travel → fighting
Homes are scattered across the slopes, but many stand abandoned after families fled to escape the fighting.
asserted
families → scatter → fighting
It is eerily quiet, no sound of the cars or motorbikes that are continuously whizzing through the city.
asserted
that → whiz → city
All you can hear is the bleating of livestock and the sound of incoming and outgoing fire.
asserted
you → hear → fire
"Two mortars landed here on my property," said Ali, sitting outside his home with a herd of goats, about 1km (0.6 miles) from the front line.
asserted
Ali → land → line
He told me he had sent his children to a displacement camp because they could no longer cope with the shelling and gunfire.
uncertain
they → tell → shelling
He had stayed with his wife and sisters to look after their animals.
asserted
He → stay → animals
"I am terrified," he said, "but I have no choice, we will all go hungry without our animals and die anyway."
He gave only his first name, fearful of repercussions if the Houthis take over the area in the days ahead.
asserted
Houthis → say → days
Contacts from the Houthi side have told us they are consolidating troops, preparing for a major offensive.
asserted
they → tell → offensive
When we asked government forces about this they said they are aware and were preparing too.
asserted
they → ask → this
At the closest checkpoint to the front line, we met some fighters who had just returned from positions high on the mountain, just a few hundred metres from advancing Houthis.
asserted
who → meet → Houthis
One of them said the bodies of 18 government soldiers lay in an area his unit could fire across but not reach.
uncertain
unit → say → area
"We shoot over them, but we can't pull them out," he said.
asserted
he → shoot → them
Fighting around Taiz has intensified since the Houthis seized the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha, 85km to the west of the city, on 10 September, after a ceasefire that had largely held for four years unravelled.
asserted
that → intensify → years
The group took control of a swathe of territory overlooking the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait – a crucial shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia.
asserted
group → take → Europe
This contributed to a rise in oil prices as fears rose of further disruption to supplies from the region.
asserted
fears → contribute → region
It sits at a vital intersection between Houthi-controlled areas in northern Yemen and government-held ones in the south – and is hemmed in by front lines in several directions.
asserted
It → sit → directions
Government forces hold the centre of Taiz, while Houthi positions lie to its north and east.
asserted
positions → hold → north
The fiercest recent fighting has been on the western approaches, where the two sides are contesting high ground overlooking the city's route south.
asserted
sides → contest → route
If the Houthis secure these areas, government forces could find it much harder to retake Mokha.
uncertain
it → secure → Mokha
We travelled to Taiz from Aden in the south, where Yemen's
asserted
We → travel → south
Presidential Leadership Council and government are based.
asserted
Council → base → ?
About 30 checkpoints along the route marked stretches of road controlled by different commanders – a clear sign of the fractured make-up of the forces fighting on the government side.
asserted
checkpoints → mark → side
As we neared the city, ambulances began to pass us.
asserted
ambulances → near → us
We counted at least five within half an hour, heading towards Taiz's main hospital.
asserted
We → count → hospital
It was clear that we were driving into a city at the heart of a brutal battle.
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we → drive → battle
We arrived after dark.
asserted
We → arrive → dark
The shops were lit, the restaurants were packed and children were playing in the streets.
asserted
children → light → streets
But every so often, other sounds broke through – the thud of shelling and the crack of gunfire from the mountains around the city.
asserted
sounds → break → city
After ousting the government from Sanaa in 2015, the Houthis attempted to also seize control of Taiz but were driven out of most of the city by local militiamen.
asserted
Houthis → oust → militiamen
Now, in their latest offensive, Houthis are making extensive use of drones alongside other weapons.
asserted
Houthis → make → weapons
Their main outside supplier is Iran, which has provided weapons, funding and military advice, according to Saudi Arabia, Western countries and UN experts.
uncertain
which → provide → Arabia
Iran, however, has previously denied supplying weapons to the Houthis and says it only supports them politically.
asserted
it → deny → them
There have been persistent reports over many years of the Houthis recruiting child soldiers, and a government soldier told us he had faced them on the front line.
asserted
he → recruit → line
"It's difficult to look at a Yemeni child and shoot at him.
asserted
It → look → him
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
