Sanaa, Jan 14 (IANS): Dozens of fighters have been killed in clashes between the Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels intensified in the central province of Marib, a government source said.

The clashes took place in the district of Jabal Murad in southern Marib "as the government forces recaptured a chain of hills", the source told Xinhua news agency on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV said the Saudi-led coalition, which backs the Yemeni government forces, launched a series of airstrikes on the Houthi fighters in the hills of Jabal Murad district on Wednesday.

Jabal Murad district is one of the several frontlines between the Yemeni rival forces in and around the government-held province, about 170 km east of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthis seized several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of Sanaa.