13 killed in central Yemen fighting

By Murad al-Aurifi

SANAA

At least 13 people have been killed in fighting between pro-government fighters and Shia Houthi militants in central Yemen Wednesday.

A mortar shell fired by Houthis struck a house in the central Taiz city, killing five people, including three women, and injuring five others, medic Hamoud al-Zeib told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

Two pro-government fighters were also killed and 8 others injured in clashes with Houthi militants in western Taiz, local commander Abdel-Aziz al-Majidi said.

According to al-Majidi, scores of Houthi militants were killed and injured in the clashes in which a number of Houthis were captured by pro-government fighters.

Meanwhile, six Houthis were reportedly killed in attacks by pro-government forces in the central Al-Bayda’ province.

Pro-government fighters attacked a Houthi location in the province on Tuesday, killing four members of the Shia group and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, local commander Mustafa Hussein told Anadolu Agency.

Two Houthi militants were also killed in an ambush by pro-government forces in western Al-Bayda’, he said.

The Houthi group has yet to confirm the casualties.

Yemen has been racked by chaos and bloodshed since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing President Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

In March of last year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive military campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi gains and restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

In April of this year, the Yemeni government and the Houthis entered into UN-sponsored talks in Kuwait aimed at resolving the conflict, in which more than 6,400 people have been killed and an estimated 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.

* Anadolu Agency Correspondent Mohamed Sabry contributed to this report from Egypt