32 killed in Yemen violence

By Murad al-Arifi

TAIZ, Yemen

At least 32 people were killed in clashes on Tuesday between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels in Yemen's central Taiz province.

Pro-government forces said in a statement that 24 Houthis and allied forces of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed in battles in the center of Taiz city.

"Six government forces were also killed and 11 others injured in the violence,” said the statement.

The statement said that scores of Houthi militants were also injured in the clashes.

Meanwhile, two children were killed and six people injured in artillery fire by Houthis and pro-Saleh forces on residential areas in central Taiz.

Yemen has been ravaged by civil war since late 2014, when the Houthis and their allies overran capital Sanaa, forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

The conflict escalated when Saudi Arabia and Arab allies launched in March of last year a massive military campaign in the country aimed at reversing Houthi gains and restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that more than three million Yemenis have been displaced by the ongoing conflict in the Arab country.