Aden (AFP) April 20, 2015- Clashes between rebels and pro-government forces and Saudi-led air strikes killed at least 60 people in Yemen, medics and military sources said Sunday, after Riyadh pledged to fund a UN aid appeal.

Ten Huthi rebels and four pro-Hadi “popular committees” militiamen were killed in pre-dawn clashes in the southwestern city of Taez, the sources said.

The city has seen fierce clashes over the past week, after having been largely spared in fighting that has spread across several provinces.

On Sunday, coalition warplanes pounded Huthi positions in Taez, an AFP correspondent said, adding that the streets were empty and shops were closed.

Air strikes on Shiite rebel positions in the southern city of Daleh as well as clashes on Sunday killed 17 Huthis and six southern fighters.

Seven more Huthis were killed in an attack by tribesmen in the southern province of Shabwa.

In Aden, 11 Huthis and five pro-Hadi fighters were killed in clashes on Saturday night and Sunday morning, military sources said.

The pro-Hadi fighters recaptured the Russian consulate and a Hadi residence from the Huthis, they added.

The rebels, who seized Sanaa unopposed in September, have since expanded their control across the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.

Saudi King Salman ordered the aid pledge following a UN appeal on Friday for $274 million (253 million euros) in emergency assistance for the millions affected by Yemen’s multi-sided conflict.

The kingdom “stands with its Yemeni brothers” and hopes for “the restoration of security and stability”, the state Saudi Press Agency said.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator Johannes Van Der Klaauw said Friday that “ordinary families are struggling to access healthcare, water, food and fuel — basic requirements for their survival”.