Houthi militias "collapsed" and retreated from the southern city of Taez, the Yemeni Popular Resistance said on Saturday, following clashes with the Iran-backed militiamen. Resistance fighters took over the municipality building and the residence of deposed leader Ali Abdulla Saleh following the retreat of militias loyal to the former president and Houthis, Al Arabiya reported. The Iran-allied militias also retreated from the southern governorates of Aden, Shabwah, Abyan, Lahejj, and Dalea , all of which now under the control of Yemeni armed forces and resistance fighters. Fighting between the Popular Resistance, allied with Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, and the Houthis moved to Al Baydaa and continues to rage in the country's central governorates, according to Al Arabiya. The Yemen conflict escalated in March when a Saudi-led, American-supported coalition began launching airstrikes against Houthi militias and their allies - troops loyal to deposed leader Ali Abdullah Saleh - who control the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen. They are pitted against southern fighters, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants and loyalists of the exiled Hadi.