Hujour tribes battled on Friday to subdue Houthi militias that have besieged Kashar directorate in the northwestern Yemeni province of Hajjah.
Several tribal leaders have pledged to fight the Houthis tooth and nail.
On Thursday, the United Nations expressed for the first time concern over the developments in Hujur, calling for calm and self-restraint.
“Our colleagues in Yemen (working in the humanitarian field) are alarmed by the military activities in Hujur and the humanitarian consequences resulting from a continuation of violence on civilians,” said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN chief.
“We call on the parties to exercise restraint and to refrain from any acts that lead to further escalations,” he told reporters in his daily press briefing in New York.
Yemeni Information Minister Muammar Al-Iryani has urged the UN and the international community to salvage Hujour tribes from the crimes committed against them by the Houthis for the past 50 days.
He warned that the residents of Kashar directorate would meet the same fate of Yazidis in Iraq if no action was taken to help them.
According to tribal sources, the militias have killed around 70 people and injured more than 200 others since the start of confrontations in Hujour.
But the tribes remain steadfast against the attempts of insurgents to control the area, the sources said.
