Yemeni Shiite rebels fire on military plane in breach of truce

SANAA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni Shiite rebels have opened fire on a military plane flying above the troubled city of Saada while a number of top army personnel was on board, the official Saba news agency reported on Friday.

"The fire took place at 9:30 a.m. local time Thursday while the plane was doing a routine trip to transfer some military officers to the province," said the report, citing an official of the Higher Security Committee that overseeing the post-war truce.

"The plane was not damaged or hit," said the unidentified official.

The report said the rebel action came as an indication of intending to breach a ceasefire agreement the rebels signed with the government on Feb. 11.

Yemen has witnessed sporadic battles since 2004 between government troops and the Shiite Houthi rebels whom the government accused of seeking to re-establish the clerical rule overthrown by the 1962 Yemeni revolution which yielded the Yemeni republic.