Mortar shells fired by the Houthi rebels hit a displacement camp in south Yemen's Dhalea province on Wednesday, leaving five people injured, a government official said.

"A number of Houthi-fired mortar shells landed on a displacement camp in the northern outskirts near Qataba district, injuring five people inside their tents," the local government official said on condition of anonymity.

"The shelling caused injuries among members of two displaced families who were living inside their tents in Dhalea's outskirts," said the source.

Local residents confirmed that flames were seen rising from the targeted displacement camp following the Houthi shelling.

Many families who were living inside the displacement camp fled their tents amid fears of renewed shelling, according to the residents.

In April, the Iranian-allied Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of Yemeni government forces and succeeded in seizing the district of Al Husha in the west of Dhalea.

The areas in the north and west of Dhalea, 138 km north of Aden, have been witnessing non-stop fightings between government forces and Houthi fighters for about four years.

Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 after Houthi rebels forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.

AFP