Sources: Yemen government forces shell Houthi positions

Fighting continued in Yemen on Monday as government forces shelled Houthi positions in western Yemen, sources told dpa.

The conflict between the Tehran-backed Houthi militia and the internationally recognized government in Yemen has escalated in recent weeks amid the wider regional conflict.

Yemeni government security sources said the shelling targeted Houthi positions, including missile-launch sites. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The attack followed a series of Houthi missile and drone strikes on the government-controlled port city of Mokha on Sunday.

Yemeni armed forces spokesman Colonel Majid al-Nazili said on Sunday evening that the Houthi attacks killed four members of the armed forces and three civilians while wounding 30 others, most of them civilians. He said most of those wounded had been discharged after receiving medical treatment.

Al-Nazili said the Houthis targeted civilian property and infrastructure, including homes of employees and their families, power-generation stations and other civilian sites, as well as military positions.

He said government air defence systems in Mokha intercepted and brought down 11 Houthi drones involved in the attack.

The Houthis seized large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sana’a, in 2014, plunging the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country into civil war.

Saudi Arabia has supported the internationally recognized government in its fight against the Houthis. A de facto truce in 2022 significantly reduced fighting, although sporadic clashes continued.