Yemen says 2 soldiers killed by Houthi shelling despite truce

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - Two Yemeni soldiers were killed and four others injured by Houthi shelling, according to the army on Sunday.

A military statement said it documented 91 Houthi violations of a UN-brokered truce in the provinces of al-Hudaydah, Taiz, Ad-Dali, Hajjah and Marib.

“These violations resulted in the death of two army soldiers and the injury of four others,” it added.

There was no comment from the Houthi group on the statement.

On June 2, Yemen’s warring rivals agreed to extend the truce for two additional months.

Under the truce, which was first reached on April 2, all military operations were halted. The agreement also allowed the operation of commercial flights from rebel-held Sanaa Airport in the Yemeni capital.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since September 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to restore the Yemeni government to power.

The eight-year conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions suffering from hunger.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara