Houthis publicly execute 9 people for alleged spying

Yemen, Sep 19 Yemen's Houthi militia have publicly executed nine people for allegedly spying for Saudi Arabia.

The nine were brought by an armoured vehicle to al-Sabeen Square in the capital Sanaa and were put in a line in the middle of the square, reports Xinhua news agency.

Hundreds of Houthi supporters observed the execution on Saturday.

A representative of the Houthi security court read a verdict, accusing the nine of espionage that led to the killing of top militia leader Saleh al-Sammad in April 2018 by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike in the western port city of Hodeidah.

A Houthi security squad then shot them dead.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.

The seven-year war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million and pushed the country to the brink of famine.