At least six members of Yemen's Houthi rebel group were killed by pro-government forces in the country's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Monday, a military official said.

"Armed confrontations broke out between the pro-government Giants Brigades troops and the Houthis who tried to break into Tuhyata district of Hodeidah," the local military official said on condition of anonymity.

The confrontations also left several Houthi members injured, he added.

No information, however, was given about casualties among the pro-government soldiers during the exchange of fire with the Houthis in Hodeidah.

The port city of Hodeidah, a vital lifeline for millions facing starvation, has seen a shaky cease-fire between the government and the Houthi rebels since they reached a UN-sponsored truce in Stockholm in December 2018.

The truce was seen as the first phase toward a nationwide cease-fire to end Yemen's more than five years of civil war.

Hodeidah is under the control of the Houthis, while the government forces have advanced to the southern and eastern districts.

Both sides have been blaming each other for truce breaches and sporadic military escalation.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.