By Ali Owaida

MARIB, Yemen

At least 14 Houthi rebels were killed in clashes with government forces in western Yemen, according to the Yemeni army.

In a statement on Saturday, the army said government forces had repelled several Houthi attacks on military positions in Midi town in the western Hajjah province on Friday.

According to the statement, a Houthi spokesman was among those killed in the violence.

Yemen fell into civil war in 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

In 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled government.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the war, while more than 11 percent of the country’s population has been displaced as a direct result of the conflict.