[ADN Kronos] Calm returned to the streets of the northern Yemeni city of Saada on Monday, after more than 140 Houthi militants were killed in an assault on the government's regional headquarters at the weekend. A military official said that the fighters launched their pre-dawn attack from three points on Sunday in a bid to take the presidential palace, a key symbol of power in the centre of the city."The army killed more than 140 rebels after thwarting an attempted attack on Saada," an official said. It was the most intense fighting since the military launched an offensive in August.
Shia rebels led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi have been conducting a low-level insurgency to challenge president Ali Abdallah Saleh who has been in power since 1978.
Yemen's army recently intensified its offensive against Shia Houthi fighters after government security chiefs rejected a truce offer from the president.
The Red Cross said recently more than 25,000 people had been displaced by the conflict in the provinces of Saada and Amran and staff were working around the clock to provide urgent relief.
The Houthis released a statement saying that the army's allegations were inaccurate and designed to justify military offensives in residential areas of Saada.
The group did, however, say that fighting was continuing in a number of locations across Saada province, including the directorates of al-Malahid and Shada.