Fighting flares up in south Yemen amid shaky five-day humanitarian pause

Armed confrontations flared up early Wednesday between the Shiite Houthi fighters and tribal militia loyal to Yemeni President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in several southern Yemeni provinces, undermining a shaky five-day humanitarian pause that came into affect last night.

Yemeni government officials confirmed to Xinhua that ground fighting and exchange of heavy shelling erupted just hours after the five-day ceasefire came into effect, but no airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition against Houthis reported so far.

"The fighting is still ongoing like everyday, especially in the southern province of al-Dhalea. Tank shells and heavy weapons were used since early Wednesday morning," a military commander told Xinhua by phone.

Local residents said the heaviest fighting took place in Yemen's third largest city of Taiz as the pro-Houthi forces tried to bring army reinforcements and seize more sites on ground despite the ceasefire.

Akram Basha, a Taiz-based resident, told Xinhua by phone that the situation in the combat zones "remains unstable, with armed provocations by the two warring rivals continuing on almost all sides."

In the southern port city of Aden, the Houthi gunmen and pro-Hadi militiamen were still battling over the control of Aden's western entrance that is linking to the city's sole Refinery Company located in Buraiga district.

Scores of people were either killed or injured due to the ongoing armed confrontations in Aden's district of Buraiga since Tuesday night, according to local government sources.

Armed clashes were also seen in the central oil-rich province of Marib, where intense fightings have taken place for about six weeks over the control of key government facilities.

The Shiite Houthi group, backed by army units, and pro-Hadi tribal militiamen, who have been battling over the control of several Yemeni cities for the past six weeks, have all pledged to respect the truce in order to allow badly needed humanitarian aid to reach besieged civilians inside the conflict-battered country.

On Monday, up to 100 people were killed and nearly 300 others injured when intensified air bombings of the Saudi-led coalition forces bombed missiles warehouse and arms depots that caused huge blasts in the capital Sanaa, causing series of intensive explosions that displaced thousands of families from their homes.

Saudi Arabia, along with eight other Arab states, have been bombing the Houthi group and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since March 26, aiming to reinstate the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was forced to flee the country. Endit