'Scores' of Houthi commanders killed in Red Sea coast clashes

The attacks came days after the UN's new envoy to Yemen met Trump officials in Washington

epaselect epa06648463 Pro-Houthis Yemenis perform traditional dance during a rally against the Saudi-led military operations in Yemen, in Sana'a, Yemen, 05 April 2018. According to reports, the Saudi-led military coalition intensified airstrikes against several positions across Yemen a day after the coalition shot down a missile allegedly fired by the Houthis targeting storage facilities of Saudi oil giant Aramco.  EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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Scores of Houthi field commanders have been killed in Yemen as the Arab Coalition’s support of military efforts to restore the internationally recognised government are boosted by the growing number of recruits joining the fight against the Iran-backed rebels.

Thousands of volunteers have signed up for military service with the Yemeni National Resistance Forces under the leadership of Staff Brigadier-General Tarek Mohamed Abdullah Saleh, according to Wam yesterday.

General Saleh’s forces are campaigning on the Red Sea Coast in the direction of Mocha and Al Barah, west of Taiz, in a bid to regain control over the area and pave the way for the delivery of humanitarian support to the people there.

"We are training the new recruits and equip them with all available advanced weaponry to help in the ongoing battles side by side with their Yemeni siblings against the Iranian-led scheme and restore control over the usurped lands," Wam quoted a Resistance Force source as saying.

Al Arabiya reported yesterday that Houthi leader, Khalid Silan, also known as Abu Hussein, has been killed during an Arab Coalition air raid in al-Tifa. Silan provided weaponry and supplies in the region.

An employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was shot killed in Taiz, the aid group said on Saturday.

The organisation confirmed Hanna Lahoud’s death in Yemen in a tweet. It said in a statement that unknown gunmen attacked his vehicle as the Lebanese national travelled to a prison in the southwestern Yemeni city.

We condemn this brutal and apparently deliberate attack on a dedicated humanitarian worker,” said the ICRC's Middle East Director, Robert Mardini.

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Saudi air defences on Friday intercepted a ballistic missile fired at Jazan by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The thwarted attack was the latest in a series of attempted missile strikes on the southern coastal city.

Martin Griffiths, the new United Nations envoy for Yemen held his first talks with senior Trump administration officials in Washington last week, where his appointment to the post has raised hopes of a political process to end the country's war.