Aden – Forty people were killed in fighting between Shiite Houthi rebels and pro-government forces around southwest Yemen’s main city of Taez, military sources said on Thursday.
27 Houthis and 13 pro-government fighters were killed, as a rebel offensive aimed at reimposing a siege of the city was repelled on Wednesday, Colonel Sadeq al-Hassani, spokesman for the loyalist forces, said.
Also on Wednesday, five Houthis and allied rebels were killed when loyalists backed by Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes and artillery fought off a rebel assault in the nearby Kahbub area, pro-government officials said.
Yemen’s conflict has since killed more than 6,600 people, most of them civilians, and displaced at least three million others, according to the United Nations.
Fighting has intensified since the collapse in early August of UN-mediated peace talks held in Kuwait.
