Saudi-led raids, clashes kill dozens in Yemen

By Mohamed al-Samai and Tawfiq Ali

SANAA

Dozens of people have been killed in fresh airstrikes and clashes between Houthi rebels and government forces across conflict-ridden Yemen.

Saudi-led coalition planes struck several Houthi positions in the northern Jawf province Monday, killing five Houthis, the media center of the pro-government forces said in a statement.

In another statement, the media center said 18 rebels were killed and scores injured in separate attacks by government forces on Houthi posts in the central al-Bayda’ province Sunday.

The claim could not be verified from the Shia Houthi group.

Meanwhile, five government forces were reportedly killed and nine others injured in battles with Houthi militants in the southwestern Taiz province Sunday, the statement said.

Yemen has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

The conflict escalated in March of last year when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a major air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi gains and supporting Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.

Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in the Yemeni conflict -- more than half of them civilians -- while another three million are estimated to have been displaced amid a spread of malnutrition and disease.