Yemeni forces recapture rebel-held port

Yemeni forces have recaptured a Red Sea port town in Hajjeh province held by Shia Houthi rebels, Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Saudi-led coalition warplanes took part in the operation in the port of Midi late Wednesday, a security official said.

The Shia Houthi group and their allies have used the Midi port for smuggling weapons into their main bastions, the official said.

However, sources close to the pro-Houthi forces denied the government reports and maintained that their fighters were still in full control over Midi.

Yemen was plunged into violence in September 2014 when the Houthis invaded the country's capital Sanaa, driving President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.

The conflict soon turned into an all-out civil war between pro-government forces and Houthi rebels backed by troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, followed by the intervention of a Saudi-led Arab coalition vowing to restore Hadi's legitimate government.