Sana’a: Al Houthi rebels and tribesmen agreed a local ceasefire in northern Yemen on Tuesday after clashes between the rivals killed about 60 people there last week, tribal sources said.
Tribal sources said on Tuesday the truce, mediated by the mayor of the capital Sana’a, stipulated that fighters from both sides withdraw from the area and let the army deploy.
The fighting is just one challenge facing Yemen, where authorities are struggling to shore up control in the face of internal conflicts, poor governance and poverty.
The stability of Yemen, which neighbours top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, is of major concern to the West which is worried about the repercussions of a complete breakdown in security in Yemen, home to Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
On Sunday Al Houthi fighters and their allies from the Al Hashed tribal federation seized control of Al Khamri, a region in Omran province associated with the powerful Al Ahmar clan, an ally of Salafis, adherents of an austere brand of Sunni Islam.
The latest fighting was the worst since clashes began in October when Al Houthi rebels, who hold much of northern Sa’ada province on the Saudi border, moved against Salafi forces in Sa’ada’s Dammaj town. The Houthis accused the Salafis of recruiting foreign fighters to attack them.
Underscoring the growing instability in Yemen, a bomb targeting a bus carrying Yemeni soldiers in the capital Sanaa killed two people on Tuesday, a medical source said.
The blast was the latest in a series of security incidents to hit the country in less than a week. Two Westerners have been kidnapped since Friday and three explosions near the French embassy, the defence ministry and the central bank, shook the capital late on Sunday.
“I was far away from the bus and I suddenly saw a big explosion near the side where the driver sits,” said Ahmad, a taxi driver.
“Six ambulances arrived and started transporting the soldiers, there was blood spilling everywhere,” he said.
