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Yemen army closes in on Taez palace

Yemeni government forces fought on Saturday to capture a rebel-held presidential palace in the southwestern province of Taez after clashes that killed 27 people, medics and military sources said.

Most of Taez province is controlled by Houthi rebels, who are battling forces allied with UN-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi holed up in the provincial capital of the same name.

Medics at the rebel-controlled Thamar Government Hospital in Taez, Yemen's third city, said 19 Houthis had been killed in clashes over the past 24 hours.

Military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported eight soldiers dead during the same period as the army closed in on the presidential palace. The palace is under the control of Houthis who are allied with former soldiers loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh. - AFP

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