Saudi-led coalition shoots down Houthi missile near Najran

A ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels was intercepted near the south-western Saudi city of Najran, the Saudi and UAE led coalition fighting in Yemen announced on Sunday.

The coalition accused the Houthis of "attempting to target civilians and civilian facilities" in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

"We are taking operational measures to protect civilians and civilian facilities from aggressive acts," the statement said.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 on the side of the country's internationally recognized government following the Iran-backed Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital Sana'a.

The country has since descended into a brutal civil war. Thousands of civilians have been killed and the UN says that Yemen is suffering the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with millions of people at risk of starvation.

On Thursday, the Yemeni government's army thwarted several attacks by the Houthis in Marib province, the government’s last stronghold in the north of the country, after a period of relative quiet.

Saudi aircraft intervened in the fighting to support the government forces.