ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Nearly nine soldiers of Yemen's pro-government forces were killed on Tuesday in an airstrike launched by the Saudi-led coalition in the northern Marib province, a military official told Xinhua.
The military source said on condition of anonymity that "warplanes of the Saudi-led Arab coalition mistakenly targeted a military site of the pro-government forces in Jafra area in the northern part of Marib province."
He said that the airstrike occurred while fighting was taking place between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthi rebels in the same area.
"Nearly nine soldiers were killed and ten others injured as a result of the Saudi-led airstrike that mistakenly missed its target and hit our forces," the source said.
He confirmed that the Saudi-led Arab coalition was participating in the ongoing fighting and launched a series of other airstrikes against the Houthis.
On Sunday, fierce clashes and airstrikes also escalated Sunday on several fronts in Nehm district of the rebel-held Sanaa, as the Houthis seized control of mountains overlooking the roads linking Sanaa with Jawf and Marib province, according to pro-government news website al-Masdar Online.
The fighting in Nehm and Jawf escalated after last week's Houthi missile attack in the adjacent Marib province killed more than 100 Yemeni government troops.
The UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths has called on all Yemeni parties "to cease all military activities," warning that such escalation could fail the fragile peace process.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa.
