At least 46 people are reported killed in the northern Hajjah Governorate of Yemen as pro-regime forces fight the secessionist Houthi movement.
One of the leaders of the pro-regime forces, a Salafi, claimed that 40 of the slain were Houthis and the other six were Salafists. He also said a large number of Salafist fighters were wounded in the clashes.
The Houthis claim they are winning the fights, which they described as ongoing. A Houthi leader accused Saudi Arabia of backing the Salafist faction, and vowed to “behead those mercenaries” who killed Houthis.
The Houthis are a Shi’ite faction that is the majority in the far north of Yemen, along the ill-defined border with Saudi Arabia. They have regularly clashed with both the Saudis and the Saleh government, and have achieved de facto independence since mass uprisings began elsewhere in Yemen.