37 Houthi fighters slain in central Yemen: Army

By Ali Oweida

MAARIB, Yemen (AA) - The Yemeni army on Thursday said it had killed 37 Houthi rebels -- and captured another 30 -- in fierce clashes in Yemen’s central Al-Bayda province.

In a statement, the army said several positions had been captured from the rebels in clashes that occurred over the last 24 hours.

According to the same statement, six Yemeni military personnel -- including an army lieutenant-colonel -- were also killed in the clashes.

Houthi officials, for their part, have yet to comment on the army’s claims.

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

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Houthis of serving as Iranian proxies -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The following year, UN-sponsored peace talks held in Kuwait failed to end the destructive conflict.

The violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of “the worst humanitarian disasters in modern times”.