Intense Yemen shelling kills Saudi border guard

Waves of rebel artillery strikes on a Saudi border guard post on the Yemeni border has killed one, Riyadh has confirmed, following heavy fighting in the war-torn country.
2 min read
15 January, 2017
More than 100 Saudi soldiers have been killed since March 2015 [Getty]

A Saudi soldier was killed by Houthi rebel shelling along the kingdom's border with Yemen, the interior ministry said on Sunday.

The corporal - who was manning a border guards post in the Najran region - died when it came under attack from "intensive shelling" at 5pm (2pm GMT) on Saturday, the ministry said.

Saudi troops soon reinforced the beseiged border guards following a heavy day of fighting in Yemen.

The corporal is the latest of more than 110 soldiers and civilians killed in southern Saudi Arabia by rocket strikes or skirmishes since a Saudi-led coalition began operations in Yemen almost two years ago.

In support of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government, the alliance launched airstrikes after Houthi rebels and their allies overran the capital Sanaa and moved on to other parts of Yemen in September 2014. 

Since then, more than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen - half of which civilians - where United Nations mediation and seven ceasefires have failed to stop the violence.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said that his administration will start transferring salaries to state employees in rebel-held areas in another bid to reassert government authority.

Public sector employees in rebel-controlled areas have struggled since Hadi moved the central bank from Sanaa to the temporary capital of Aden in June, after accusing the insurgents of running down Yemen's foreign reserves.

Dagher said government employees "across all provinces" will receive their salaries at post offices and exchange outlets, state news agency Saba reported.