Yemen: 18 Houthis trying to access military zone killed

SANAA

Eighteen armed Houthi rebels were killed in Yemen’s northern province of Al-Jawf while attempting to infiltrate a military zone, state media reported Monday.

A number of rebels were also wounded, said the Saba news agency, citing a military source.

On Saturday, the Houthi rebel group downed a Tornado fighter jet belonging to the Saudi-led coalition fighting them.

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.

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.