Saudi-led coalition warplane downed by Houthi rebels in Yemen: Report

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed that they have shot down a  Saudi led coalition warplane belonging to the Saudi-led military coalition in the northern province of al-Jawf, according to the reports on February 15. The Tornado aircraft was downed with surface to air missile in al-Masloub district, according to media outlet citing a statement by the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saream, without providing any further details. According to the reports, the fighter jet was part of an operation to support Yemeni government forces, the coalition said in a statement carried by the official of the state media.

READ: Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s Houthi Rebels In Indirect Peace Talks

Saudi-Yemen peace talks

The Saudi-led military coalition involved in Yemen's conflict in 2015 to support the government that had been forced out by the Houthi rebels. Earlier, Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels are held indirect, behind-the-scenes talks to end the impoverished Arab country’s devastating five-year war. Officials from both sides have told media that the negotiations are taking place with Oman, which borders both Yemen and Saudi Arabia, as mediator. The Saudi-led military coalition, which entered the war in 2015, is fighting on behalf of Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and his internationally recognized government.

READ: Yemen Hospital Suffers In Houthi Missile Attack, Eight People Killed

Yemen to become the poorest country in the world: UN

The United Nations said in an official report that if the ongoing civil war in Yemen continues till 2022 then it would become the poorest country in the world. The percentage of poverty in the year 2014 was 47 per cent, and it is expected to reach 75 per cent by the end of this year due to the war.

The United Nations Development Program published a report on September 26 which discussed the current scenario of Yemen. The report quoted the UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner who said that the war has made Yemen the 'largest humanitarian crisis in the world'. Yemen is currently among the poorest countries in the Middle-Eastern region and its condition deteriorated even more after the Saudi-led intervention in 2015. 

READ: Yemen: Houthi Rebels Offer To Release Approximately 350 Prisoners

READ: Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s Houthi Rebels In Indirect Peace Talks

(With Agency Inputs)