Six Saudi soldiers 'killed in border clashes with Houthi rebels'

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) aired coverage of the soldiers' funeral on Monday, announcing they had died in Jizan, on the southern border with Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Houthis claim to have made gains over the past days in Almalaheeth, Saada province, close to Jizan.

The Houthi rebels also said an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition killed at least five civilians, including two children, when it hit a vehicle in a northern province.

Youssef al-Hadri, spokesman of the Houthi-run Health Ministry, said in a statement the airstrike took place Monday in Kitaf district of Saada province, which borders Saudi Arabia.

He says the dead included two women, two children and the vehicle's owner.

The rebels have released graphic images showing dead bodies, claiming they were of the victims.

The head of the Houthi Prisoners and Detainees Affairs Committee also said the group had captured Sudanese soldiers fighting for Saudi-led coalition forces in the Hajjah Governorate. 

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Yemeni sources told The New Arab's Arabic outlet that Sudanese soldiers have been fighting primarily on the border areas. 

Sudanese opposition figures have called on their country's transitional government to bring back Sudanese soldiers fighting for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, including child soldiers and mercenaries, according to a report published last month.

The decision to join the Saudi-led war against Houthis in Yemen was made by former dictator Omar al-Bashir, whose current trial revealed he received millions in illicit cash funds from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. 

Riyadh intervened in Yemen in 2015 to prop up Yemen's internationally recognised government against the Iran-backed Houthis. 

Read more: How the Saudi-led coalition is sinking in political and military failures in Yemen

Last month, the Houthis offered to stop missile attacks on Saudi Arabia in return for an end to Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. Riyadh has responded to the offer positively.

The conflict in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.