Rebels deny seizing four Yemeni soldiers

Yemen's Zaidi rebels have denied abducting four soldiers as claimed by the government blaming the authorities for kidnappings and unrest in the country, in a statement on their website.

- Claims reported by the ministry of interior that we have abducted four soldiers in Al-Jawf province are false and unfounded - said the statement posted late Wednesday on almenpar.net, quoting a rebel media official.

''We affirm that those... carrying out abductions and causing unrest in more than one region in the country" belong to the authorities and "some of them hold military ranks'' and are employed by security services, it said.

Yemen's interior ministry had accused the Shiite rebels, who are also known as Huthis, of abducting four soldiers in the north of the country on Monday and further undermining a fragile truce signed in February.

The rebels "abducted four soldiers" on Monday ''as they were travelling in their vehicle along the main road in... Zahar,'' in the northern province of Al-Jawf, the ministry said in a statement.

Two Yemeni soldiers and an unstated number of Zaidi rebels were killed

The ministry had said that this abduction ''comes in the context of an escalation (in tensions) by members of the rebellion ... designed to hinder efforts to implement'' the truce and to pacify the province.

Two Yemeni soldiers and an unstated number of Zaidi rebels were killed on Monday in northern Amran province, in the first such clash since the February 12 agreement, a security official had said.

Sporadic clashes between the rebels and neighbouring tribes loyal to the Sanaa government have been reported since the truce was enforced.

The truce between the government and the rebels followed an all-out offensive that Sanaa launched against the Zaidis last August in a bid to eradicate their five-year revolt.

Many northerners were displaced by the conflict, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees putting the number at more than 250,000 people.