ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Forces loyal to Yemen's government launched a military campaign on areas controlled by the Shiite Houthi rebels in the southwestern province of Taiz on Saturday, a military official told Xinhua.

According to an official of the Fourth Regional Military Command, the pro-government forces backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition stepped up military operations against Houthis in areas located between Taiz and Lahj provinces.

He said that a number of villages in Hayfan and surrounding areas were captured by the pro-government forces following fierce armed confrontations with the Iranian-backed Houthis.

The Houthi-controlled sites were shelled heavily with several Saudi-led airstrikes hours before the pro-government military attack, he said.

Local tribal leaders confirmed to Xinhua saying that the Houthis have no presence in their villages after Saturday's military operations.

"Our tribal fighters engaged in the fighting alongside with the pro-government forces and Houthis fled leaving their weapons behind," a local tribal chief said during a phone call.

"Houthis' existence in our villages is totally rejected and we won't tolerate with such militia any more," the tribal source said.

Both Yemeni warring rivals stepped up military operations across the war-torn Arab country, just days ahead of a fresh round of peace talks, the fifth of its kind, is set to kick off in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 6 under the auspices of the United Nations.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries intervened militarily and began pounding the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in March 2015 in response to an official request from President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to protect Yemen and roll back Iran's influence.

The internal military conflict between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government recently entered its fourth year, aggravating the suffering of Yemenis and deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis in the country.