Thirty-one militias of Houthis and supporters of toppled president Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed and 72 injured during confrontations with national army and resistance forces, said the Yemeni military council in the southwestern city of Taiz.

In Tuesday's report, the council said 16 resistance and army personnel were killed and 37 injured during the clashes.

The militias shelled residential areas, leaving behind two civilians dead and 17 injured, mostly women and children.

The shelling was the fiercest in Taiz as shuddering explosions rattled the city, the council said.

Arab coalition forces shelled several militia posts in western Taiz.

On November 17, Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi returned from exile to southern city Aden as his troops and allies in a Saudi-led coalition pressed one of their most important offensives yet against Houthi rebels.

In September, after six months of exile in Saudi Arabia, Hadi returned to Aden but had to go back to Riyadh after a deadly attack on the provisional seat of government.

Hadi declared the southern port city Yemen's temporary capital after he escaped house arrest in the rebel-held capital Sanaa in February.

The following month, he fled into exile as the rebels and their allies entered Aden, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to launch a military intervention in support of his internationally recognized government.

Sources: MENA