Yemeni troops backed by fighter planes launched a wide offensive against Shi'ite rebels in the north of the Arab country on Tuesday, rebels and tribal sources said, as conflict escalated after weeks of skirmishes, Reuters reported.
Government forces fired missiles on the headquarters of rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in mountainous Saada province, as other positions held by rebels also came under attack, tribal sources and rebels told Reuters.
Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries, has been battling a Shi'ite Muslim rebellion, a wave of al Qaeda attacks and rising secessionist sentiment in the south.
The unrest has raised Western fears that it could become a haven for Islamic militants bordering Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.
The offensive was launched a day after Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said renewed fighting in the north showed the rebels had no intention of sticking to a government peace plan announced a year ago.
Officials say the rebels, who belong to the Zaydi branch of Shi'ite Islam, want to restore a form of clerical rule prevalent until the 1960s in Yemen.
The rebels, who want Zaydi schools and oppose the government's alliance with the United States, say they are defending their villages against government oppression.
Sunni Muslims form a majority of Yemen's 19 million population, while most of the remainder are Zaydis.
In July 2008, Saleh said four years of intermittent fighting against Shi'ite rebels in the north had ended and dialogue should replace combat.
Despite his attempts to start talks, sporadic fighting continued and it has intensified in recent weeks.
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