Scores of Houthi rebels were reportedly killed in
artillery shelling near border with Saudi Arabia on Sunday as the
two-year conflict deepened in war-torn Yemen.
In a statement, the Yemeni army said its forces and Saudi-led
artillery had pounded Houthi sites in Midi and Harad districts in
the western Hajjah province near Saudi border.
"Scores of Houthis and their allies were killed and injured in
the attack," the statement said, giving no exact number of
casualties.
There was no comment from the Shia Houthi group on the
claim.
Meanwhile, four Houthi militants were killed and seven others
injured in clashes with pro-government forces in the western Taiz
province on Saturday, according to a statement released by
pro-government forces.
"Two pro-government fighters were injured in the violence," the
statement said.
Elsewhere, three civilians, including two children, were killed
and four others injured in shelling by Houthi rebels in eastern
Taiz.
Another child was killed by a landmine explosion in the same
province.
Yemen has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthi
rebels 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.