Fighting in S Yemen leaves 250 dead

At least 250 people have been killed in clashes between al-Qaeda-linked militants and Houthi fighters in Yemen’s southern province of al-Bayda over the past three days, security officials say.

The death figure came as the Houthi movement’s Ansarullah fighters gained more ground in battles against al-Qaeda-linked militants in the center of the country on Monday.

Latest reports said the fighters managed to secure parts of the town of Rada’ in the province of al-Bayda by flushing out the extremist militants.

Ansarullah fighters also flushed out the Takfiri militants from the southwestern Yemeni town of Yarim in the Ibb Province over the weekend.

The fighters have already taken some other parts of the Arab world’s poorest country and have also clashed with al-Qaeda militants. They have been trying to drive out the militants in order to restore security to the country.

Yemen has been facing threats from al-Qaeda-linked militants as well as a separatist movement in the country’s southern region.

Yemen’s Shia Houthi movement draws its name from the tribe of its founding leader, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. The Houthi movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced former US-backed dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to step down.

IA/NT/SS