Soldiers loyal to Yemen’s government stand next to a tank on the side of the road at the frontline of fighting against Houthi militants in the central province of Marib on Thursday.

Yemen’s government dismissed as a “maneuver” on Thursday the Houthis’ acceptance of a UN-sponsored peace plan and demanded that the Iran-backed group hand back territory it has seized since last year.

The Houthis, who control much of Yemen along with the party of deposed President Ali Abdullah Saleh, said on Wednesday they had officially informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of their readiness to join talks to end more than six months of fighting.

Asked about the overture from the Houthi-Saleh camp, however, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s press secretary, Mokhtar Alrahbi, said: “The government’s position is unchanged. There must be an announcement of willingness to implement all articles of the (UN) resolution without any changes.”

“We are ready to go to any talks after a clear acceptance of the implementation of the UN resolution,” Alrahbi said, adding that the Houthi and Saleh acceptance had come with conditions.

“We consider this (Houthi acceptance) a maneuver, especially after the painful strikes they received,” said Alrahbi.

Meanwhile, the coalition denied that its warplanes bombed a wedding for the second time in days, dismissing the report as rebel propaganda.

“We did not conduct any operation in Dhamar,” the rebel-held province south of Sanaa where the alleged strike took place, coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri said. “No strikes there. Definitely.”

Al-Assiri said there had also been no air strikes in that area and the incident was “fake.” “It is a new media strategy coming from the militia,” who have lost territory on the ground in Yemen, he said.

“We should be very careful,” he added. “Not every explosion in Yemen comes from an air strike.”

He said the rebels and their often hid weapons stores in residential areas.

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