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The coalition said it has not received a formal request from Hadi’s government to observe a truce, while the rebels said before the ceasefire went into effect they had little hope it would succeed.

One of the bases reportedly retaken from the rebels was the Labuza army base in Lahj province, north of Aden, and the other was the headquarters of the 117th armored division in eastern Shabwa province some 230 kilometers (145 miles) away.

The government announced it had “liberated” the southern port city, while witnesses said rebels still controlled a district where fighting continues.

Yemeni ministers have arrived back in Aden after the government announced it had “liberated” the port city from rebel control, the interior ministry told AFP on Saturday.

In recent days, the pro-government forces were provided with heavy weapons by the Saudi-led coalition that have enabled them to make progress against the Houthis, they added.

SANAA: Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition hit Yemen rebel positions in the central city of Taez early on Saturday, shortly after a United Nations humanitarian truce came into effect, witnesses said.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are demanding that the Houthis pull back from territory seized in their offensive and that President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi be restored to power.

Yemen was previously the preserve of IS’s terrorist rival al Qaeda, which controls swathes of the south and east, but since March the group has claimed a string of high-profile attacks.

The news agency also said Houthi forces launched rockets against a number of Saudi army positions, including a military airport in the southern city of Najran, in response to what it described as Saudi aggression against Yemen.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information otherwise, say more than 50 civilians were also wounded in the strike Monday in Fayoush, a suburb of the southern port city of Aden.

Yemen was previously the preserve of IS’s jihadist rival Al-Qaeda, which controls swathes of the south and east, but since March the group has claimed a string of high-profile attacks.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been bombarding Houthis and allied military models since March 26 in a marketing campaign to revive Saleh’s successor as president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to energy.