Yemeni gov't troops seize two northern rebel towns despite cease-fire

Yemeni government troops backed by Saudi-led coalition forces on Friday seized two Houthi rebels-held towns in northern Yemen, military officials said, despite a seven-day cease-fire announced on Tuesday.

The troops, trained and equipped in Saudi Arabia, crossed the border from the oil-rich Kingdom early on Friday.

They engaged in heavy clashes against the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi group and seized control of the Yemeni northwest rebel-held border city of Harad, about 15 km from Saudi border, a military official there told Xinhua by phone.

Also, two Saudi-backed Yemeni government battalions advanced from near southern Saudi border and retook al-Hazm, the capital city of the northeast province of al-Jouf.

They engaged in intensified clashes against the rebels that led to the collapse of all rebel military camps surrounding the capital city, an official source with the leadership of the Yemeni battalions told Xinhua.

A seven-day cease-fire went into effect on Tuesday noon between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the armed rebels of the Shiite Houthi group across the country's war-torn provinces.

The renewable pause coincides with the kick-off of UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland between the two warring sides. Enditem