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Saudi border guards stand inside a building which was reportedly hit in shelling by Yemeni Huthi rebels in the al-Khubah area in the southern Jizan province, near the border with Yemen. Image Credit: AFP

ADEN: Eighteen Yemeni rebels have been killed in fighting around the Saudi border over the past 24 hours, Yemeni army officers said on Tuesday.

Clashes flared this week around the Red Sea port of Midi and the nearby Saudi border town of Huthaira, spilling over into the rebel heartland of Saada inland.

The Yemeni army officers said loyalist forces had managed to wrest control of several rebel-held towns straddling the border.

Saudi officials contacted by AFP did not respond to requests for comment.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of the internationally recognised government in 2015.