ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The prime minister of Yemen's internationally-backed government urged on Saturday the local and foreign oil companies to avoid conducting any deals or relations with Houthis in the country's northern provinces.
The Yemeni PM Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr held a meeting with high-ranking officials in southern port city of Aden and strongly warned all the oil producing companies against making any deals with Houthi rebels in Sanaa and elsewhere, according to a statement released by Saba News Agency.
"Oil companies that violate the government's rules will be accountable for their decisions and will face financial punitive measures," the statement said.
"The prime minister also discussed with the governor of the oil-rich province of Shabwa the ongoing preparations to reopen some oil companies there and resuming oil production in the government-controlled provinces," the statement added.
Yemen's internationally-backed government, allied with the Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has for more than two years been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels over control of the country.
The coalition began a military air campaign in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains and reinstate exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government to the power.
The coalition also imposed air and sea blockade to prevent weapons from reaching Houthis, who had invaded the capital Sanaa militarily and seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces.
UN statistics show more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war that also displaced around three million.
The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera epidemic since April this year, with about 5,000 cases reported every day.
