Yemen battle kills dozens, source says
More than 70 followers of a slain rebel preacher have been killed and the army suffered dozens of casualties in two days of clashes in northwest Yemen that ended with the army taking control of rebel positions, says a tribal source.
“More than 70 followers of (Shaikh Husain Badr al-Din al-Huthi) were killed in the fighting which went on throughout Wednesday and until Thursday night” in Saada province, where the two sides have been fighting since 28 March, one source told reporters on Friday, requesting anonymity.
“Dozens of troops were killed or wounded, particularly when counter-terrorism units parachuted onto mountain tops overlooking the rebels’ strongholds in Razamat and Wadi Nushur (Nushur Valley) on Thursday,” the source said.
Sources said government forces stormed rebel positions in Razamat, Wadi Nushur and al-Shafia, wresting control of the outposts on Thursday night.
Fighting in Sada
Meanwhile, Aljazeera’s correspondent in Sanaa reported that dozens of people were killed and others injured on Friday during hours-long clashes in the city of Saada.
The clashes erupted when al-Huthi’s followers sneaked into the city early on Friday and attacked buildings and governmental headquarters, the correspondent said.
Yemeni authorities’ announced that they had tightened their grip on al-Huthi’s followers in the Razamat area north of Saada.