Houthi rebels freed 200 soldiers they had captured two days earlier during fighting in the Al-Amishiya region of the northern province of Amran, local media reported on Wednesday. However, the defense ministry denied that rebels had captured soldiers from the Republican Guards.
On Tuesday, local media cited a military official as saying Houthi rebels had captured 200 soldiers, which he said belong to the 72nd Regiment of the army's Republican Guards.
The soldiers were reportedly captured after Houthi fighters took control on Monday of a strategic army base in Al-Zula, in Amran, where Houthi and government-backed clans had been engaged in tedious fighting.
The clashes between the government- backed clans and Houthi Shiite rebels erupted 10 days earlier, putting off an already fragile truce agreed in February that ended a six-month round of fighting, which started in 2004.