Saudi-led coalition intercepts new Yemeni rebel drone

Riyadh: A Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen intercepted a Huthi rebel drone targeting the kingdom, a spokesman said Wednesday, calling it another violation of an already fragile ceasefire in a key Red Sea province.
The unmanned drone was shot down in Yemeni airspace after the Iran-aligned rebels launched it from Hodeida province, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in comments carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Maliki did not report any casualties, but said the operation was a breach of the Hodeida ceasefire deal reached in Sweden last December between the rebels and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
The deal has already been marred by reported violations on both sides as UN-led peace efforts falter in Hodeida, the main entry point for the bulk of Yemen’s imports and humanitarian aid.
The rebels denied carrying out Wednesday’s attack. Huthi-run Al-Masirah TV quoted a spokesman as saying “no such operation has been conducted in the past 12 hours”.
Persistent coalition bombing since the Saudi-led intervention March 2015 has exacted a heavy civilian death toll in Yemen.