Sana’a: A ceasefire took effect in the Yemeni capital Monday, ending hours of fighting between the Al Houthi militia and troops near the presidential palace and in other parts of Sana’a, a security official said.
The ceasefire was agreed during a meeting of a representative of the Al Houthi militia with the defence and interior ministers.
Residents in areas around the presidential palace confirmed that the fighting had come to a halt.
Prime Minister Khalid Bahah escaped unharmed after his convoy came under fire from Al Houthi fighters, an official said.
At least two people were killed and 14 others wounded in the fighting, the first major clashes since the militia overran Sana’a unopposed in September, a medical source said.
Al Houthi militiamen opened fire on a convoy carrying Bahah in Sana’a shortly after he left the residence of President Abd Rabo Mansour Hadi, Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf said.
Sakkaf said Al Houthis had taken “complete” control of state television and the official Saba news agency.
“Yemeni satellite channel is not under state control, nor is state news agency Saba. Al Houthis have completely controlled them and are refusing to publish any government statements,” she wrote. She described the attack as an “attempted coup”.
The gunmen who overran Sana’a in September had then allowed state media to continue to publish news released by the government.
The Arab League called on all political factions to cease fighting and respect the government. “The Arab League calls on all Yemeni political forces to immediately and comprehensively cease all forms of violence and respect the country’s legitimate authority,” the League’s Deputy Secretary General, Ahmad bin Helly, told reporters in Cairo.
The militiamen said they had also seized control of an army base on a hill overlooking the presidential palace in the capital, amid clashes with troops guarding the complex.
The fighters “at this moment control the Nahdain mountain, which overlooks the presidential complex,” Al Houthi official Ali Al Bukhaiti said on his Facebook page.
“They have allowed soldiers to leave with their personal weapons,” he added.
Witnesses said however that fighting was continuing on the hill.
Meanwhile, crude production from the country’s Masila oilfields in Hadramout province stopped due to protests over the seizure of a presidential adviser by Al Houthi fighters, trade union officials said on Monday.
The Houthis seized President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi’s chief of staff, Ahmad Awad Bin Mubarak, on Saturday in a dispute over a proposed new constitution which threatens to bring down the government.
