Yemeni refugees killed in UN-run camp

A number of displaced Yemenis in a UN-run camp have died after being caught in a crossfire between clashing sides in the north of the country.

"According to sketchy information from Saada, a rocket or a mortar round landed in the camp, killing and wounding the IDPs, women and children among them," the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a Friday statement.

The incident took place in the UNHCR-managed al-Sam camp on the outskirts of the northern provincial capital of Saada, which currently provides shelter for around 500 people.

The agency did not have figures on those killed and injured by the attack, but warned of the deteriorating security situation in the beleaguered area.

"UNHCR is shocked and saddened by the latest reports of the loss of life and indiscriminate targeting of Yemeni civilians forced to flee their homes," it added.

The impoverished Arab nation has seen some 150,000 people displaced or affected by the conflict between the army and Houthi fighters since 2004, when the opposition took arms against the central government to end repression and discrimination against the Shia minority.

An estimated 55,000 Yemenis have fled in the latest spate of fighting which broke out after the Sana'a government's August military offensive launched to quell the Houthis in the north.

The Shia movement has accused the Yemeni army of employing al-Qaeda mercenaries along with foreign fighters to confront the Houthi opposition.

They say the Sunni-dominated government in neighboring Saudi Arabia has been collaborating with Sana'a by sending military aid and jetfighters to bombard Houthi positions.