Clashes intensify between rival rebel forces in Yemen's capital

Clashes intensified between rebel Houthi fighters and their rival forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the Yemeni capital on Saturday, residents said.

The armed violence is continuing for the fourth consecutive day after the rebel rivals failed to reach a peaceful political conciliation over the past days.

The dispute began Wednesday after Saleh's supporters refused to allow Houthis to get in the Saleh mosque in Sabeen square south of Sanaa to secure a religious ceremony to commemorate birthday of Prophet Muhammad.

The infighting expanded Saturday and paralyzed all major streets in Sanaa and surrounding outskirts, which have been jointly controlled by Houthis and Saleh's loyal forces since 2014.

Residents and eyewitnesses confirmed that all commercial movement and traffic have stopped since Friday night.

Sources in both rival forces said 40 to 60 people were killed in the fighting in several major streets, mostly near the residents of Saleh and his nephew, Brigadier Tarek Mohammed Saleh in Hadda quarter southwest of Sanaa.

A statement from Saleh's General People's Congress party (GPC) called for its loyal armed tribes and supporters to join the ranks and fight against Houthis.

In the meantime, officials loyal to Saleh began to report that their GPC loyal supporters and fighters seized control of the state television stations, airport, camps in the capital.

In response, Houthi chief Abdul-Malek al-Houthi made a surprise speech this morning, calling on former President Saleh and tribal leaders to intervene to stop the internal bloodshed and reunite the internal ranks to face the "aggression," in reference to the Saudi-led military coalition.

The Houthi chief also accused the GPC of secret collaboration with the leaders of the coalition.

The coalition has been fighting both Houthis and Saleh's party since March 2015 and imposed the most tight blockade on all air, sea and land ports, but allow access to southern ports, which are under control of Saudi-backed government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The nearly three years of wide war has killed over 10,000 Yemeni people and pushed the country into the brink of mass famine

Source: XINHUA