Yemen: At least 50 dead in heavy fighting

AFP - Yemeni government troops were locked in heavy fighting on Thursday with Shiite rebels in northern Yemen where at least 50 people have been killed in the past two days, military and tribal sources said.

Dozens more may have died in the provincial capital of Saada, where army officials and eyewitnesses said street battles intensified late on Thursday.

Some 21 rebels and four soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in the Harf Sufyan area of Amran province, where clashes broke out Wednesday night and continued on Thursday, the military and tribal sources told AFP by telephone.

Witnesses said that Yemeni warplanes engaged in action to back up troops around Harf Sufyan as well as in Dhahran, Anad and Al-Aqab districts of the Saada province, stronghold of the Zaidi rebels, also known as Huthis.

Another 23 rebels were killed in sporadic clashes in Dammaj southeast of Saada

Published by Mike Hitchen i On Global Trends, world news, analysis, opinion
Putting principles before profits