Conflicts escalate as armed rebels advance into Yemeni capital

Shiite Houthi rebels advanced into the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Thursday after they clashed with the army in the city's northwest outskirts for about three days, security sources said.
The rebels fired rockets towards the Yemeni TV station in northern Sanaa late on Thursday, security sources told Xinhua, the latest in an escalating conflict between the government and Houthi rebels.
The state-run TV station which locates on a hill on the side of a main road leading to Sanaa International Airport was under heavy gunfire for several hours, the sources said, adding that the army had deployed reinforcement including several tanks to protect the TV station, without mentioning casualties.
The Yemeni TV reported that "the Shiite Houthi armed rebels attacked the TV building with shells, in another armed escalation in the capital Sanaa."
Powerful explosions rocked the area near Iman University, run by Sunni Islah Party, and barracks of the 1st Armored Division. The Shiite rebels have surrounded the two sites and clashed with the army soldiers there that left more than 50 people killed in the past two days.
Dozens of families living in northwestern Sanaa managed to flee to other provinces, while hundreds of families are still caught in the troubled neighborhoods waiting for the two sides to reach a ceasefire deal.
More than 50 people, including ten civilians, were killed during the past two days of the clashes in Sanaa's northwest outskirts.
On Wednesday, clashes between the army and Shiite Houthi rebels in Sanaa have left at least 20 soldiers killed.
The deadly clashes broke out as negotiations between the Sunni- dominated government and the Shiite Houthi group run into deadlock after the rebels walked away from talks on a solution to end the crisis on Monday, saying there was "foreign intervention."
Tens of thousands of supporters of the Houthi group rallied in Sanaa since early August, demanding the government to resume fuel subsidies and resignation of the cabinet. The protesters also set up sit-in tents around several ministries. Meanwhile, the Houthi group also mobilized thousands of armed fighters at entrances of Sanaa.
The protests intensified after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi made an announcement earlier this month that he would replace the government to end the crisis. Hadi also reduced the fuel price hike that triggered the mass protests.
The UN envoy to Yemen Jamal bin Omar arrived in Yemen's northern province of Saada, the stronghold of Houthi rebels, on Wednesday, and held talks with the Houthi leader Abdul Malik al- Houthi on Thursday trying to broker a peace deal.
The Houthis have been fighting against the Yemeni army in the country's northern regions for years. They have controlled Saada province and expanded influence in several northern provinces since they signed a ceasefire with the government in 2010.