The Yemeni government has rejected an offer of a truce by northern Shiite rebels, stressing that it should also include a pledge not to attack neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a government official said Sunday.

The announcement came as military officials said fighting between rebels and government forces was raging across three fronts in the north of the country and that another 24 Huthis had been killed in battles.
 

"The government rejects the [rebel leader Abdul Malak] al-Huthi’s initiative to accept the five points of the government terms [for peace], because it does not include a sixth point, which demands a pledge from the Huthis not to attack Saudi territory," the government official told AFP.
 

Initially the government had set five conditions to end the war. But the sixth condition concerning the pledge to end attacks against neighbouring Saudi Arabia was apparently added after the rebels locked horns with Riyadh.
 

The five conditions include the rebels' withdrawal from official buildings, the reopening of roads in the north, the return of weapons seized from security services, the release of all military and civilian prisoners, including Saudis, as well as the abandoning of military posts in the mountains.
 

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also rejected Huthi’s demand for a halt to attacks by the army as a precondition for the end of fighting.

Conditions imposed
"Huthi's condition of ending the fighting from the government side is rejected until the Huthis themselves agree to implement the six points," he said.

The leader of the Shiite rebels said on Saturday that he will accept government's conditions to end the war if attacks against them cease.
 

"I announce our acceptance of the [government's] five points, after the aggression stops," he said in an audio message released on the Internet.
 

"The ball is now in the other party's court."
 

He said the rebels would accept the terms "in order to stop the bloodshed and the genocide against civilians, and to end the catastrophic situation in the country."
 

Huthi's statement came on the heels of an announcement from the rebels on Monday that they would withdraw from Saudi territory they had occupied since November.

Saudi Arabia entered the fight in November after it accused the rebels of killing a border guard and occupying two small border villages.

Fighting continues
Meanwhile clashes continued in northern Yemen, and the defence ministry claimed on Sunday the killing of 24 rebels in different confrontations.
 

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said fighting broke out on three fronts near Saada, 240 kilometres north of the capital Sanaa, and that government jets were launching raids in the area.
 

The defence ministry news website 26sep.net said a rebel chief, identified as Qaed Abu Malik, was killed along with 20 other comrades in the Safia area of Saada province.
 

It also claimed the killing of three other rebels while they tried to sneak to farms near Al Aqab, also in Saada, a stronghold of the rebels who are also known as Huthis.
 

The government launched an all out offensive against the rebels in August, with the aim of eradicating their five year uprising.
 

Source: AFP