Heavy fighting between the pro-Saudi forces and the Shi’ite Houthis in Yemen over the past 24 hours left at least 80 people dead nationwide, one of the single deadliest days of fighting in months, and a sign that the crumbling peace process is no longer restraining fighters on either side.

The largest death toll was in an airstrike by the Saudi military, which killed 34 people in Taiz in a target on a Shi’ite controlled area. 19 civilians were among the slain, according to reports from the area.

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At least five people have been killed and 28 others wounded in two series of suicide bombings on a predominantly Christian village in northeastern Lebanon near the border with Syria, officials said.

Four suicide bombers blew themselves up early on Monday in the village of Qaa in the Bekaa Valley, killing five people and wounding another 15, the state-run Lebanese News Agency reported.

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Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Shiite rebels raged Sunday on several fronts, killing 41 people, officials said, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Kuwait to push forward peace talks.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels pressed ahead with attempts to advance towards the strategic Al-Anad airbase, in the southern province of Lahj, a military official said.

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Witnesses say that Al-Qaeda fighters have been seen in southern Yemeni cities, nearly a month after the militants withdrew from the towns following tribal-led negotiations.

Local residents reported Thursday that Al-Qaeda militants were seen in the cities of Jaar and Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan province.

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The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) made further advances against Islamic State (ISIS) militants on Thursday, advancing to within just two kilometres from the city centre.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported that the fighters were engaging ISIS militants in heavy clashes in Manbij’s western districts, only two kilometres from the city centre.

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