Clashes kill 11 in Yemen

Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA: Eleven people were killed in clashes between government forces and Houthi rebels in Yemen’s central al-Bayda province, according to a local official on Saturday.

Government forces repelled a Houthi attack on army positions in al-Malagim district in the province late Friday, Mosaad al-Salahi, the provincial chief of Natei directorate, told Anadolu Agency.

He said three soldiers and eight rebels were killed in the attack.

According to al-Salahi, Houthi rebels sought to recapture a strategic mountainous region seized by government forces earlier in the week. There was no comment from the Shia Houthi group on the claim.

Yemen has been wracked by civil war since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa, forcing the Saudi-backed government to set up an interim capital in the coastal city of Aden. The conflict escalated one year later when a Saudi-led coalition began a wide-ranging military campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

According to some Yemeni government sources, who insisted on anonymity, these UAE-backed forces are operating outside their mandate and outside the control of Yemen’s Aden-based government. (AA)