Gunmen kill senior militia leader in Yemen

Unknown gunmen shot and killed a senior Yemeni militia leader and four people traveling in his convoy in the southern city of Aden, residents and militia sources said on Thursday. 

Assailants in a car and on a motorcycle opened fire on the motorcade of Ahmed al-Idrisi, a top commander in the pro-government Popular Southern Resistance committee, while it travelled on a main road in the Mansoura district late on Wednesday.   

The attack came days after the assassination of a prominent judge on the same street and the bombing of a party headquarters, underscoring security chaos in the city which is the embattled Yemeni government's temporary capital.

Idrisi's militia is a main ally of a mostly Gulf Arab coalition which has been bombing the Houthi rebels based in the capital, Sanaa, in Yemen's north.  

 Civilian deaths

The UN says the conflict has killed at least 5,884 people since March, when airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition began.    

Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Saudi-led coalition are fighting Houthi rebels and supporters of the country's long time former president. The conflict is seen as a reflection of the struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran for influence in the region.  

Rights group Amnesty International says both pro-government forces and Houthi rebels have committed human rights violations, including unlawful killings and enforced disappearances.   

Amnesty says impunity prevails and no progress was achieved in putting an end to political assassinations or addressing abuses.