SANA'A, Yemen: IRIN reported that the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) says it is concerned about censorship of news websites in the wake of clashes in the northern province of Sa'ada between government forces and Shias.

The country's Ministry of Telecommunications has blocked two news websites saying they failed to follow instructions, YJS Secretary-General Marwan Dammaj told IRIN.

"The Ministry of Information has issued instructions to journalists and editors not to cover the war in Sa'ada in a way that runs counter to the official media's reporting," Dammaj said.

According to aid workers so far the fighting in Sa'ada has led to the deaths of hundreds of civilians and soldiers and the displacement of 30,000-35,000 people.

Dammaj told that www.al-shoura.net and www.aleshteraki.net, two opposition news websites, have been blocked by the Ministry because they reported on the humanitarian catastrophe and fighting in Sa'ada.

Aleshteraki.net of the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) was blocked on 16 May, and al-shoura.net was blocked late February after a flare-up in the Sa'ada clashes.

"These procedures are illegal and the websites were blocked without being taken to court. The government blocked the websites without regard for the law," he said.

The deputy chairman of the YSP Information Office, Mohammed al-Maqaleh, said they wanted to expose the real humanitarian situation in Sa'ada, although this kind of reporting "enrages the government".

"We demand that the Ministry of Telecommunication stop blocking the website. It is our right, and the people's right to know what is happening in Sa'ada," al-Maqaleh told IRIN.

In early March, the Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders, which advocates press freedom, said it was concerned about growing political internet censorship in Yemen after the authorities blocked access to the opposition website www.al-shora.net on 24 February.