Fears as new Yemen fighting sees more dead a week after ceasefire expires

Fighting continues in Yemen between Houthi rebels and the internationally-recognised Saudi-backed government days after the warring parties failed to extend a UN-brokered ceasefire that expired last week, according to multiple reports. 

At least six Yemeni government troops as well as an unknown number of Houthis were killed in fighting on Saturday, while a Houthi landmine killed two children and injured a third on Sunday, according to Arab News.

Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani said the Houthis had committed "heinous crimes", according to a statement on the Yemen News Agency (SABA).

On Sunday, four Yemeni soldiers were killed and several others injured by roadside bombs in the southern province of Abyan by the militant group Al-Qaeda, which controls parts of the country, according to Arab News. 

The truce between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi-led coalition ended at 7 pm on 2 October after the warring parties failed to renew the ceasefire.

The Iran-backed Houthis attacked multiple government positions last week after the truce expired in an attempt to secure battlefield gains, The New Arab's Arabic sister service, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, reported, with least eight people killed, a security official confirmed on Friday.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen's war in 2015, to support the internationally recognised government which had fled south following a Houthi takeover of the capital Sanaa.

Both the coalition and Houthis have been accused of committing grave violations by rights groups.