Government soldiers and Shiite rebels are fighting again in northern Yemen, breaking a 6-month-old cease-fire with clashes that have killed more than 30 people, government officials and rebels said Thursday.The new bloodshed broke out last week, with Yemeni troops shelling villages in Saada province, a Shiite rebel stronghold, a local government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists.
He said fighting had escalated in the preceding 24 hours, with guerrillas staging dawn attacks on army camps nestled in the nearby Marran mountains. Soldiers responded with artillery, helicopter and tank cannon, he said.
More than 30 people were killed, the official said. An aide to rebel leader Abdel Malak al-Hawthi said at least 12 Shiites — a mix of rebels and civilians — had been killed. He also insisted on speaking anonymously.