RIYADH // Saudi Arabia has intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen, says the Riyadh-led military coalition backing the Yemeni government.
The missile, which was intercepted on Monday night, was the second to be launched from Yemen since United Nations-brokered peace talks began in Kuwait on April 21 between Houthi rebels and the government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
The missile launches were aimed at sabotaging “efforts of the international community to make the peace negotiations a success”, said the Saudi-led coalition, which is made up of mostly Arab states.
It warned that it could retaliate if such strikes continue.
Saudi Arabia has deployed Patriot missile batteries to counter tactical ballistic missiles which have been occasionally fired into its territory during the war.
The coalition, in which the UAE plays a leading role, launched air strikes in Yemen last March in support of pro-government forces battling the Iran-backed Houthis who had seized much of the country.
Since then, the coalition has provided other military support to pro-government forces, including training and armoured vehicles.
Fighting has continued despite a ceasefire that paved the way for the talks in Kuwait.
On Tuesday, loyalist military sources said renewed clashes between pro-government forces and the Houthis had killed at least 38 people during the past 24 hours.
Battles raged in Bayhan, on the border between Shabwa province in the south and Marib province in the east.
There was also fighting in Sarwah, an oil-rich area west of Marib city, the sources said. Marib city is the capital of Marib province.
At least 23 rebels and 15 soldiers were killed in both areas.
Bayhan is the only part of Shabwa province still controlled by the Houthis, who on Tuesday retook positions seized by loyalists during the past two days.
Forty-eight fighters were killed in fierce fighting in Bayhan on Sunday, a senior military officer said.
Meanwhile, media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Houthi “sniper fire” killed Yemeni journalist Abdullah Azizan while he was covering the clashes in Bayhan on Sunday.
Azizan worked for the local marebpress.net news website.
* Agence France-Presse
