SANAA, July 18: The Yemeni army has killed about 90 armed backers of a rebel Muslim preacher holding out in a remote mountainous area of the country, military sources said on Sunday.

The latest violence brings to about 300 the number of people killed in a month of fighting between government forces and supporters of an uprising led by preacher and former MP Hussein Badr Eddin al-Huthi.

"Almost 90 supporters of al-Huthi have been killed in violent battles with army forces over the past three days," said a military source among the army troops in the mountainous area of Maran near the border with Saudi Arabia.

"Dozens were killed and wounded among the armed forces, who since Thursday have launched an offensive to take control of the last hideouts of al-Huthi, whose supporters continue to put up a tough resistance," the source said.

Huthi, the self-styled "Emir al-Momineen" or Prince of Believers, launched an uprising a month ago and is believed to be holed up in the rugged Maran area with as many as 3,000 armed supporters.

According to residents, the army has been in control of an area known as Wadi Al-Futi since Friday, depriving the rebels of a key position used to supply them with logistics.

The protracted unrest meanwhile continued to force out inhabitants of the vast region. More than 2,000 families fled on Thursday, and measures have been taken to supply them with food and shelter until military operations have ended, residents and aid workers said.

A mediation effort last month led by MPs, including one of Huthi's brothers, to end the unrest was abandoned after the Zaidi preacher refused to surrender. One of the MPs involved in the abortive effort, however, accused elements of the army of undermining efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully. -AFP