State-run media reported that Yemeni forces killed about 150 Shiite rebels Sunday in northwestern Yemen after the rebels tried to take over the presidential palace in Saada, breaching a recent cease-fire.

State-run SABA said, “The Houthi fighters attacked the city from different directions with almost 70 armored vehicles, but the attack was repelled by the troops.”

It added, “Two soldiers were killed and about 20 troops injured in the attack.”

Saba further reported that about 70 other Houthi rebels surrendered to government forces early Sunday.

For five years, battles between Yemeni forces and rebels in the north have raged intermittently. A government offensive launched last month escalated the bloodshed.

The conflict is considered to be both separatist, over who will assert authority in the area; and sectarian, over whether Shiite Islam will dominate in majority Sunni Yemen. The rebels are supporters of slain Shiite cleric Hussein al-Houthi.

(via CNN)