More than 75 people have been killed in Yemen's Hajjah province over the last three days after Saudi-led coalition forces faced off against the Houthi rebels yet again. The Hajjah Province lies along Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia. The fighting has been a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement put in place on Tuesday as United Nations-led peace talks continued between the warring forces in Switzerland.
Of those killed, 40 were from the rebel groups and 35 from the government forces, local officials told Associated Press. The government troops had been training in Saudi territory for several months and have now moved back into the country, officials said. Dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles have been destroyed.
The talks in Switzerland have been marred by both sides refusing to cooperate and exchanging blame. On Friday, the rebel delegation suspended their meetings with the government in protest against the ceasefire violations. A government official, however said the Houthis were the first to break it. The rebels then went back on several promises they had made, including releasing five crucial political prisoners, saying they would only cooperate once the UN consolidated the ceasefire efforts.
The Saudi-led coalition is internationally recognised and backed by the United States. It has been clashing with the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran and a former Yemeni president. Local units of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have taken advantage of the crisis, creating their own areas of influence. At least 5,884 people have been killed and huge amounts of property have been destroyed in Yemen since March, when the civil war started (pictured above).
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