Yemeni Houthi rebels launched on Sunday intensive shelling against positions controlled by the government forces in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a military official said .

"Military positions of government forces based in the Durayhmi district were targeted by Houthi shelling using a barrage of mortars," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Some of the Houthi-fired shells landed on a military position of the joint pro-government forces but caused no casualties, the source said.

Pro-government forces responded by shelling Houthi-controlled positions in Hodeidah, he added.

The Iran-allied Houthi rebels control much of Hodeidah while the Saudi-backed government troops have advanced to the southeastern districts.

Yemen has been locked in a civil war since the Houthi rebels seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen's conflict in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The prolonged military conflict has aggravated the suffering of Yemenis and deepened the world's worst humanitarian crisis.