ISTANBUL

Saudi air defenses intercepted ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels from neighboring Yemen, the Saudi-led international coalition said on Friday.

"The missiles were launched in a deliberate and systematic manner targeting cities and civilians, which is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law," coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

He claimed the missiles were being assembled and launched from Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

Meanwhile, a senior Yemeni army officer was killed in an exchange with the Houthi rebel group, according to local sources.

Brig. Gen. Sadek al-Ekemi died in a battle with Houthi rebels in Al-Jawf province's Al-Ghayl district, said the sources, requesting anonymity due to security concerns.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

In one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, tens of thousands of Yemenis, including civilians, are believed to have been killed in the conflict since then, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.