(MENAFN- Arab News) SANAA: Heavily armed Yemeni Shiite militiamen took over the headquarters and house of a powerful army general allied to Sunnis on Monday and set up checkpoints across the capital Sanaa after sweeping across the city as the general and his allies fled and went into hiding.

The move against Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar consolidated the Houthi rebels' grip over Sanaa after a week of deadly battles. The group had seized a series of strategic installations key state buildings in Sanaa in recent days but later handed most of them over to military police.

Even as the UN deal was signed on Sunday the Houthis captured the headquarters of the army's 1st Armored Division an elite outfit led by Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar who has carried out several military campaigns against the Houthis in the north.

On Monday Houthi fighters seized a large amount of weapons from the army headquarters and were seen transporting it out of Sanaa possibly to their northern strongholds. Dozens of tanks and armored vehicles were seen being taken out of the barracks.

Al-Ahmar a powerful Sunni tribal leader and a former confidant of Saleh's switched sides during the uprising and was instrumental in ousting the president.

He led a succession of six local wars against the Houthis from 2004 until 2010 with battles taking place mainly in the rebels' northern heartland. The fighting left the Houthis with deep enmity for the general and his allied Sunnis.

The rebels' blitz into Sanaa forced Al-Ahmar on the run and his present whereabouts were unknown security officials said Monday speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.