SANAA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Fighting between the Yemeni government troops and Houthi militia erupted on Friday morning in the government-held Marib province despite a UN-backed truce, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
The clashes broke out in the southern district of Al-Jubah, said the report.
The Houthis said the pro-government forces were the first to attack and they managed to "repel the attack." However, a military officer with the government told Xinhua that it was the Houthi militia who fired the first bullet.
On April 2, a two-month truce backed by the UN between the warring parties in Yemen came into effect, including the halt of all offensive ground, aerial and naval military operations across the country.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.
On Thursday, the Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi handed over power to a newly-formed Presidential Leadership Council, calling on the Houthi militia to join the peace process. ■
