Houthis clash with pro-Saudi forces in Yemen desert fighting

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 18:58 · Archive

Footage shows Iran-backed Houthi fighters clashing with pro-Saudi forces in the Yemeni desert.

Footage shared on social media appears to show Iran-backed Houthi fighters clashing with pro-Saudi forces in an undisclosed location in Yemen. A Saudi convoy of armoured vehicles can be seen attempting to charge Houthi positions across barren desert landscape. Vehicles are struck by explosives, with some flipped upside down and others burning. In one clip, a body cartwheels through the air after an explosion before hitting the ground. A pickup truck is seen racing across the sand at high speed, with soldiers in the back thrown violently about and one soldier flung from the vehicle.

The Daily Mail reports the battle resembles scenes from the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road. The warring sides have been fighting since a Saudi-led coalition staged a military intervention in Yemen in 2015. That intervention followed the ousting of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi by the Houthis, an armed political and religious group belonging to the Shia Muslim community. The Houthis are described as being backed by Iran.

How it is being reported

• Understanding Iran's Houthi rebel alliesIran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are trading strikes with a Saudi-led coalition. CBS News' Dov Lieber has more context.CBS News · 14 Oct, 18:29
• Moment Houthi and pro-Saudi forces fight 'Mad Max-style' desert battle as Kingdom 'rejects Israel's help' in war against Yemen's Iran-backed rebelsFootage shared on social media is believed to show the Iran-backed fighters chasing Yemen's pro-Saudi forces across the sand.Daily Mail · 13 Oct, 09:48

In this story: Houthis · Saudi Arabia · Iran · Yemen · Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem