Yemen army seizes arms shipment to rebels in Hodaydah

Yemeni forces seized an arms shipment to Houthi rebels in Al-Hudaydah province in western Yemen, according to the army on Sunday.

A military statement said the shipment included light and medium weapons, ammunition and mortar shells.

According to the statement, government forces had aborted several attempts to smuggle weapons and explosives to Houthi rebels, but without giving further details.

There was no comment from the Houthi group on the claim.

Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that escalated in March 2015 after Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee the country.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara