Thousands of Yemeni families displaced after heavy clashes: UN

DUBAI: More than 2,000 families have been displaced after heavy fighting in northern Yemen, the United Nations said Tuesday, after the Huthi rebels seized control of a provincial capital. The Iran-backed Huthis took control of Al-Hazm, capital of the northern province of Al-Jawf, on Sunday, government sources told AFP. The loss of the strategic city means the militia now threatens the oil-rich neighbouring province of Marib. Since the fall of the city, “an estimated 1,800 families reportedly fled heavily populated districts of Al-Ghayl and Al-Hazm in Al-Jawf”, the UN humanitarian coordination agency OCHA said in a statement. It added that “2,100 displaced families reached Marib on March 1”. Al-Jawf has been mostly controlled by the Huthis, but its capital — only 150 kilometres (90 miles) south of the border with Saudi Arabia — had been in the hands of the government.