New bout of fighting in Yemen kills dozens
Reports say militia has recaptured district of Damt
Sana’a - Yemeni officials say heavy fighting in Yemen’s southern Dhale province between pro-government forces and the Iranian-allied Al Houthi militia has killed more than 85 people.
The officials say Al Houthis recaptured the district of Damt and the surrounding area from forces allied with the internationally recognised government after more than a week of fighting. They say dozens have been wounded.
The officials spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief media.
Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war pitting Al Houthis against the government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by a Saudi-led coalition since March 2015.
The war has devastated impoverished Yemen, turning the Arab nation into the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition launched an air raid on a cave in Sana’a, used by Al Houthis to stockpile drones, a spokesman said.
The cave near the presidential palace in Sana’a contained drones to be used in terrorist operations, Colonel Turki Al Maliki said.
The “military target, a cave used by the terrorist Al Houthi militia to stockpile drones was destroyed,” he said, in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Earlier this month, the coalition said that Saudi air defences intercepted two drones launched by the militia from Yemen that targeted Khamis Mushait, home to a major airbase in the southwest of the kingdom.