ADEN, Yemen, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Fighters of the Houthi group continued Friday to attack Yemeni government-controlled areas in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a military official told Xinhua.
A number of government-controlled military positions, residential areas in Hays district of Hodeidah province came under random Houthi attack, the local military official said on condition of anonymity.
The Houthi attack created panic among the local citizens, particularly women and children living nearby the frontlines, but no casualties were recorded, according to the source.
Earlier in the day, positions of the joint pro-government forces positioned in Durayhmi district were targeted by mortar shells, according to a statement released by the Yemeni government.
The Saudi-backed Yemeni government accused the Iranian-backed Houthis of stepping up the number of armed attacks despite the cease-fire brokered by the United Nations.
On Thursday, the government forces blamed the Houthi rebels of launching an attack that killed five children in Hodeidah's district of Tuhyata.
On the other side, media outlets linked to the Houthi group blamed the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces of targeting military sites of the rebels in Hodeidah.
The UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths concluded Thursday his two-day talks with senior leaders of the Houthi group but did not succeed in convincing the group to start withdrawal from Hodeidah.
The warring forces have so far failed to withdraw from Hodeidah and its southern districts in accordance with the UN-sponsored Stockholm Peace Agreement reached last December.
The deal aimed to avert an all-out offensive on the lifeline port city, which is the key entry of Yemen's most commercial imports and international aid.
The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeidah.
The four-year civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
