8 killed in clashes in Taiz province in Yemen

By Said Ibicioglu

TAIZ, Yemen (AA) - Two government soldiers and six Houthi rebels were killed in clashes in southwestern Taiz province, the Yemeni military said Saturday.

Clashes broke out between the two sides in the Han Mountain region in western Taiz, military spokesman Col. Abdul-Basit al-Bahr said on social media.

Ten Houthis were also wounded and and three soldiers were injured after the government carried out operations against a Houthi attack, al-Bahr added.

There was no comment from the Houthi group about the claim.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sana’a. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Since then, tens of thousands of Yemenis, including civilians, are believed to have been killed in the conflict, while another 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.