SANAA, Yemen
Over 7,700 Yemenis were killed over the course of 2014 due to armed clashes, according to a study published by a Yemeni NGO late Saturday.
The study conducted by Abaad Studies and Research Center noted that the 2014 figures represent a threefold increase from the toll of 2011, when a popular uprising broke out against the country's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Sources for the figures cited in the study were not revealed.
According to the study, the Yemeni military lost more than 1,000 troops during 2014, of which at least 600 were killed by members of the Shiite Houthi militant group.
The remaining 400 Yemeni troops were killed mostly by Al-Qaeda militants and other armed groups, the study said.
In terms of civilian casualties, the study estimates that more than 1,200 people were killed during armed clashes in 2014.
The study also claims that over 5,000 Houthis were killed across Yemen in 2014.
Losses within the ranks of Al-Qaeda in Yemen are estimated between 400 and 500, the study said.
For the last several months, Yemen's Shiite Houthi group – which boasts thousands of diehard supporters – has been trying to step up its armed presence across the fractious country.
The Houthi movement has recently emerged as a political and military power in Yemen after taking over Sanaa and seeking to extend its influence into other provinces.
The Houthis' growing power has pitted the group against Sunni tribes and Al-Qaeda, the latter of which is said to still be active in certain parts of the country.
The recent ascendance of the Shiite Houthis has also caused concern in predominantly Sunni-Muslim Gulf States.
www.aa.com.tr/en
