At least 75 combatants were killed and 50 others wounded as fighting raged in Yemen’s Hajjah Province, just near the Saudi border. 40 of the slain were Houthi rebels with the other 35 all pro-Saudi troops in a pitched battle involving armored vehicles and tanks on both sides.
This is another round of heavy fighting ongoing despite Yemen nominally still being in a state of ceasefire since Tuesday. Since then, pro-Saudi forces have seized a pair of cities and launched scores of airstrikes against Houthi targets.
The Houthis expressed annoyance at the UN Special Envoy for failing to condemn the violations, and suspended their involvement in peace talks because of the continued airstrikes, saying they won’t resume talks until there is a UN statement condemning them.
Though the Saudi forces have been the ones on the offensive virtually since this ceasefire began, they continue to insist that it is exclusively the Houthis who are “violating it,” and say they are using the fighting as an excuse not to offer a settlement at the talks.
YIKES