SANA’A, YEMEN (1:00 A.M.) – The Yemeni Houthi group (Ansar Allah movement) claimed Saturday that its forces had killed a commander of Sudanese Army unit participating in Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. The incident reportedly took place in Midi district in Hajjah province, northwestern Yemen.

Citing a military source, Yemen’s state news agency, Saba, wrote, “The Yemeni army and popular committees have targeted Sudanese forces in the outskirts of Midi desert by means of rockets and artillery shelling, killing the commander of these forces.”

The military source did not specify the name of the Sudanese officer, only noting that he was a colonel, without giving further details.

RT Arabic cited a Sudanese military source today denying reports of Yemeni media affiliated with Houthis and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Sudanese source said: “Only 15 soldiers were killed and 70 wounded, some of them seriously. However, what Yemen’s Saba agency reported, about 83 Sudanese soldiers and 4 senior officers killed, is not true”.

The Sudanese military are the largest Arab force in Saudi-led coalition engaged in ground battles against Yemeni Army and Houthis, and they are paying high price for such an active participation, as many Sudanese opposition newspapers constantly criticise president Omar Al Basheer for his decision to intervene in Yemen.