26,000 Yemenis on the run, U.N. says

SANAA, Yemen — A U.N. spokesman said on Monday that tens of thousands of residents have fled the fighting along Yemen’s western coastline, where Yemeni fighters backed by a Saudi-led coalition are engaged in fierce battles with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, told reporters on Monday that about 5,200 families, or around 26,000 people, have fled the fighting and sought safety within their own districts or in other areas in Hodeida governorate.

Emirati troops, along with irregular and loyalist forces in Yemen, have been fighting against Houthis for Hodeida since Wednesday. The offensive for Hodeida has faced criticism from international aid groups, who fear a protracted fight could force a shutdown of the city’s port and tip millions into starvation.

Dujarric also said that U.N. Special Envoy in Yemen Martin Griffiths will be giving a briefing to the Security Council from Sanaa. Griffiths arrived on Saturday and aims at avoiding an all-out-assault in Hodeida.

Meanwhile, witnesses said Yemen’s Houthi rebels have shelled a village in the center of the country, killing at least eight civilians and wounding 15. Residents said the rebels bombarded the Haglan Maris village late Sunday, and that most of the dead belong to one family.

AP/JOHAN NILSSON Police cordon off an area in central Malmo, Sweden, on Monday. A Swedish newspaper is reporting that four people were injured in a shooting near a police station in the southern city of Malmo. Witnesses told newspaper Aftonbladet they heard what...