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Yemeni government forces retake port from Houthi rebels

Xinhua, January 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Yemeni government forces have recaptured a Red Sea port town in the northwestern province of Hajjeh after fierce fighting with Houthi rebels, a military official told Xinhua on Thursday.

Warplanes of a Saudi-led coalition participated in the operation in the port of Midi late Wednesday, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The Shiite Houthi group and their allies have used the Midi port for smuggling weapons into their main bastions in the country's north, the official said.

However, sources close to the pro-Houthi forces denied the reports, saying that their fighters are still in full control over Midi.

According to local residents, the Saudi-led Arab coalition launched intensified airstrikes Wednesday on Houthi-controlled positions across Sanaa, causing a series of intensive explosions that rocked nearby houses.

Loyalists of the Shiite Houthi group and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said they will organize rallies on Friday to condemn the "usage of cluster bombs in capital Sanaa," following reports by pro-Houthi media outlets that U.S.-made BLU-63 cluster bombs were used on several occasions during Wednesday's bombings.

The impoverished Arab country was plunged into violence in September 2014 when the Shiite Houthi group invaded the country's capital Sanaa, driving President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out civil war between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels backed by troops loyal to former President Saleh, followed by the intervention of a Saudi-led Arab coalition vowing to restore the legitimate government of Hadi.

The almost daily air raids by the Saudi-led alliance and fighting on the ground have killed thousands of Yemeni civilians and forced many others to flee their homes. Endit