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Armed Shiite rebels push into Sanaa
(MENAFN- Arab News) SANAA: Armed Shiite rebels pushed into Yemen's capital Sanaa after clashing with the army in the city's northwest outskirts on Thursday security sources and residents said in an escalation of weeks of fighting and protests.
Residents of northwest Al-Shamlan district told Reuters the Shiite Huthi gunmen were now advancing along Thalatheen Street a major route into the western edge of the city.
The fighting has further destabilized an impoverished country also struggling to overcome a secessionist movement in its south the spread of an Al-Qaeda insurgency and other threats.
The officials say Thursday's fighting in Shamlan has forced thousands to flee their homes but they have no word on casualties. They say the rebels are surrounding the Iman University an institution long viewed as a primary breeding ground for militants.
They say 60 people have been killed in the fighting during the last 48 hours.
A military source said Huthi gunmen had also attacked an army camp on the southern entrance of the capital but soldiers repelled the assault.
In recent weeks Huthi protesters have been blocking the main road to Sanaa's airport and holding sit-ins at ministries calling for the ousting of the government and the restoration of subsidies cut by the state in July as part of economic reforms.
Critics say the Huthis are trying to grab power and carve out a semi-independent state for themselves in the north something they deny.
The United Nations' special envoy to Yemen meet Huthi leader Abdulmalek Al-Huthi in Saada province on Wednesday to try and find a way out of the conflict. The three-hour meeting was 'constructive and positive' Jamal Benomar was reported as saying.
The Huthi said on Monday they would no longer take part in negotiations with the Yemeni government about their grievances because of what they termed 'foreign intervention' in the discussions.
Residents of northwest Al-Shamlan district told Reuters the Shiite Huthi gunmen were now advancing along Thalatheen Street a major route into the western edge of the city.
The fighting has further destabilized an impoverished country also struggling to overcome a secessionist movement in its south the spread of an Al-Qaeda insurgency and other threats.
The officials say Thursday's fighting in Shamlan has forced thousands to flee their homes but they have no word on casualties. They say the rebels are surrounding the Iman University an institution long viewed as a primary breeding ground for militants.
They say 60 people have been killed in the fighting during the last 48 hours.
A military source said Huthi gunmen had also attacked an army camp on the southern entrance of the capital but soldiers repelled the assault.
In recent weeks Huthi protesters have been blocking the main road to Sanaa's airport and holding sit-ins at ministries calling for the ousting of the government and the restoration of subsidies cut by the state in July as part of economic reforms.
Critics say the Huthis are trying to grab power and carve out a semi-independent state for themselves in the north something they deny.
The United Nations' special envoy to Yemen meet Huthi leader Abdulmalek Al-Huthi in Saada province on Wednesday to try and find a way out of the conflict. The three-hour meeting was 'constructive and positive' Jamal Benomar was reported as saying.
The Huthi said on Monday they would no longer take part in negotiations with the Yemeni government about their grievances because of what they termed 'foreign intervention' in the discussions.
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