Saudi soldiers killed in Yemen fighting

Amid ongoing fighting in northern Yemen, at least two Saudi soldiers have been killed and five others have been wounded in border clashes with Houthi fighters.

Saudi military sources say the fighting took place in the Jebel Dukhan region, a mountainous border area, which had been used by Yemeni forces to launch attacks on the Muslim fighters.

According to the Saudi paper Asharq Al-Awsat, the bodies of the two dead Saudi soldiers were moved to the town of Jizan on Friday.

The fighting between Houthi fighters and Yemeni forces started in August, when the government launched attacks on areas inhabited by Muslim civilians and the Houthis.

The government accuses the fighters of violating the terms of an armistice by taking foreign visitors hostage in 2009.

The Houthis demand an end to social, economic and political ‘discrimination’ against Shias in Yemen as well as Saudi-backed attempts to spread Wahhabism — a sect that preaches controversial and violent actions — in the north. They also accuse the government of widespread corruption.

At least nine Saudis have been killed in clashes with Houthi fighters during the past ten days. The Saudi air force has been bombing Houthi positions and villages inside Yemen since November 4.

The fighting has displaced thousands of civilians, while tens of thousands of others remain at risk as winter approaches.