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"Seven Sunni armed tribesmen and two Shiite rebels were killed early Sunday, while several others were wounded in a fresh fighting in Kishir district in Hajja," an official of the interior ministry told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Hajja, some 127 km northwest of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, has been the scene of almost daily sectarian clashes since early 2011. Local residents said Shiite rebels led by Saada-based Abdulmalik al-Houthi have been trying to overrun the northern regions bordering oil-rich Saudi Arabia.
The sectarian conflict has spread to the northern provinces of Hajja, Saada, al-Jouf and Amran.
Since anti-government protests erupted in late January 2011, the Houthi-led rebels have been attempting to expand their control over the restive northern provinces after the government's control was weakened by the protests.
On Aug. 26, 2010, the Yemeni government and the Shiite group signed an agreement in Doha to cement a fragile cease-fire to end an on-and-off war since 2004, but the rebels' clashes with local tribesmen are still rocking the region.
Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took the constitutional oath before the parliament on Saturday to become Yemen's new president, after a landmark vote last week proposed in a Gulf-brokered power transfer deal to ease the long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh out of office.
The Houthi Shiite group in the north, as well as pro-separatism Southern Movement in the south and resurgent regional al-Qaida network in the southern and eastern provinces, have announced that they will not recognize the legitimacy of Hadi and the transitional government.
Hadi has pledged to launch reforms during his transitional term and start a national dialogue with all political factions in Yemen after he takes office. He also promised to combat with the resurgent al-Qaida off-shoot.
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