'122 Saudis' killed, 'over 1000' injured in Yemen war

At least 122 Saudis have been killed since the beginning of the war in Yemen, a higher death toll than has been admitted by Riyadh, sources told al-Araby al-Jadeed.

In addition to the dead, around 1000 others have been injured in military operations and border clashes between the start of the war on March 26 and July 27.

The figures include some soldiers injured in the Yemeni port city of Aden, where there is a limited Saudi force protecting Yemeni government officials who returned from exile after local forces defeated the Houthi rebels, as well as allied Yemeni army units loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, in the city earlier this month.

The sources did not specify how many civilians were among the casualty list, but Saudi Arabia has occasionally released statements on the deaths of civilians and military personnel as a result of missiles fired at the country's southern border regions from Yemen.

The north-western border region of Yemen, and the Saudi provinces across the border from them, have seen almost daily clashes, especially since the start of May, when the Houthis fired shells at the Saudi provinces of Jizan and Najran.

Houthi-Saleh forces have also said that they have fired scud missiles at Saudi Arabia, and Riyadh has acknowledged one such attack, saying it shot down the missile on June 6.

Reports in the South Korean media on Wednesday quoted a South Korean intelligence official as saying that the Houthis had fired 20 scud missiles obtained from North Korea, and that Saudi Arabia had shot down around 40 percent of the missiles.

On the Yemeni side of the border there have been heavy airstrikes, as well as shelling, from the Saudi forces, targeting reported Houthi positions on the border, especially in Sadah, the stronghold of the rebel group.

On May 8, after the Houthis began attacking Saudi border regions, the leadership of the Saudi-led coalition announced that Sadah province, and especially the Marran region where the Houthi leadership are from, was now a 'military target' in its totality, and warned civilians to leave in a matter of hours.

This precipitated increased attacks on Sadah, until a ceasefire was declared between May 12-17.

Human Rights Watch accused the Houthis in mid-May of launching “unguided rockets against populated areas” in an indiscriminate manner, and has also accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out airstrikes “in apparent violation of the laws of war”.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen share a long border, but clashes appear to be largely restricted to the border regions between Yemen's north-west and Saudi Arabia's south-west, specifically Hajja and Sadah on the Yemeni side, and Jizan, Najran and Asir on the Saudi side.