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REUTERS
DUBAI
Forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh battled their former Houthi allies on Thursday over control of a key outpost, marking the first such battle between the two sides since the veteran leader was killed last year.
The fighting underlined the growing complexity of the conflict that has already killed more than 10,000 people and displaced more than 3 million in the impoverished country.
Sources in the pro-Saleh forces there said there were casualties on both sides in the fighting. The forces included a new unit set up by Saleh's nephew, Brigadier-General Tareq Mohammed Saleh. He had led a brigade of a Yemeni army unit before his uncle was forced to step down in 2012 following mass protests against his rule.
The fighting followed a major switch in allegiances in the war. Saleh initially sided with the Iranian-allied Houthis who swept across most of northern Yemen in a series of military offensives that began in 2014.
The Houthis forced Saleh's successor President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi into exile, took the capital Sanaa and continued their advances until they were checked by a coalition of forces led by Saudi Arabia.
