Houthis

U.S. naval forces in the Arabian Sea seized a shipment of weapons that the United States believes was sent from Iran and was bound for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the Navy said April 4.

The patrol ship USS Sirocco intercepted and seized the shipment hidden aboard a small dhow on March 28.

A delegation of Shiite Houthi rebels from Yemen is holding talks in Riyadh, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said April 4, ahead of a planned ceasefire and renewed Yemeni peace negotiations.

"The Houthi delegation is in Saudi Arabia and the discussions are ongoing. I believe we have made good progress," Jubeir told reporters.

Six children have been killed or maimed daily in Yemen since Saudi-led air strikes began a year ago, the UN said on March 29, warning the conflict was taking a horrifying toll on the country's youth.

Rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa have released nine Saudis in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting them said on March 28, in the latest sign of tensions easing before peace talks.

Yemen's warring parties have agreed on a ceasefire from April 10 followed by peace talks, a U.N. envoy said March 23, raising hopes of a breakthrough in a conflict that has devastated the country.

The global transfer of major arms has risen in recent years, with the United States increasing its dominance of the trade while the flow of weaponry to Africa, Asia and the Middle East has increased, a new study published Feb. 22 showed.

Saudi Arabia, which is leading air strikes against rebels in neighboring Yemen, has warned the United Nations and international aid groups to protect staff by removing them from areas held by Yemen's Houthi rebels, according to a letter that was seen by Reuters on Feb. 11. 

Dozens of al-Qaeda militants reclaimed the town of Azzan in Yemen's Shabwa province on Feb. 1, residents said, exploiting a security vacuum in the country's south as a civil war rages. 

The Yemeni prime minister and his Cabinet returned on Jan. 25 to the volatile southern port city of Aden, months after he was targeted in a suicide bombing that forced them to leave the country.

A Saudi-led coalition air strike killed a Yemeni judge and seven members of his family in the capital Sanaa on Jan. 24, residents said, as an aid convoy delivered food to a besieged southern city for the first time in months.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been bombing the Iran-allied Houthis, who control the capital, since March.