SANAA

The Yemeni army said Saturday that dozens of Houthi rebels were killed and injured in clashes in Al-Hudaydah province in western Yemen.

A military statement said the clashes broke out after rebels staged an attack on army positions in Ad-Durayhimi district, south of Al-Hudaydah.

The statement gave no details about casualties among government forces.

There was no comment from the Houthi group on the claim.

Last week, the UN has called on Yemen’s warring rivals to halt military escalation in Al-Hudaydah and abide by their cease-fire agreement reached in Sweden in 2018.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict in Yemen has so far claimed the lives of 233,000 people.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara