SANAA, Yemen: Fighting between Shiite movement and government troops in northwestern Yemen left more than 20 people dead this weekend, according to government and fighting officials.

The clashes pitted government troops against fighters from the al-Houthi movement in the city of Saada, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of the country's capital, Sanaa.

Abdul Malik al-Houthi, a spokesman for the movement, said 11 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military camp, while the country's Interior Ministry said more than a dozen fighters were killed in the battle.

More than 65 people have been killed and 150 wounded since a Friday bombing outside a mosque, for which each side blames the other. Yemen's government dispatched troops and artillery to Saada on Saturday and attempted to impose a media blackout on the city of about 450,000, which is in the country's mountainous northwest, amid the fighting.

The latest violence erupted as the two sides were on the verge of signing a peace agreement. Yemeni authorities believe the movement includes about 2,000 to 3,000 of Yemen's Shia population of more than 9 million.