New bout of heavy fighting in Yemen kills 150 people

Sanaa, May 27 (AP): Heavy fighting in Yemen between pro-government forces and Shiite rebels has killed more than 150 people in the last four days, Yemeni officials and witnesses said Sunday.

Government forces have been trying to seize rebel-held areas along the western coast, while an allied Saudi-led coalition has been targeting the rebels with airstrikes in the northwestern Saada province, a rebel stronghold.

The offensive is being waged by ground troops carrying sophisticated weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles, with air cover from the coalition, the officials said.

Security officials say a Saudi-led airstrike near a gas station in the capital, Sanaa, killed four civilians on Saturday and wounded 10. In March, an international rights group said fighting along Yemen's west coast has displaced 100,000 people in recent months, mostly from the Red Sea port city of Hodeida. Amnesty International warned that the "the worst could be yet to come."