Thirty killed in central Yemen clashes

Thirty people, most of them Houthi militants, were killed late on Sunday during violent clashes with tribal militants in central Yemen, a tribal source told the Anadolu Agency.

 

The source said the clashes erupted after tribal militants had besieged Houthi rebels in the province of Al-Bayda', which they captured parts of earlier on Sunday.

 

The clashes, which continue to rage, left 30 people dead on both sides, the source said, expecting the death toll to rise in the coming hours.

 

There have been speculations of the death of Sheikh Maguid al-Zahab, an ally of the Houthis who helped them enter Manaseh, the most important stronghold of Al-Qaeda in the central province of al-Bayda' and home of al-Qaeda leader Nabil al-Zahab. A tribal source said earlier that the Houthi rebels had captured Manaseh on Sunday.

 

The source added that the Shiite militants had controlled the area after armed tribesmen and Al-Qaeda militants had pulled out of it under intensified air and artillery attacks.

 

Meanwhile, Yemeni troops and a US drone struck positions held by Al-Qaeda suspects and Sunni tribes on Sunday killing over a dozen insurgents who have been battling the Houthis, tribal sources said.

 

In a speech aired Sunday on state television, Hadi urged the Houthis to "immediately pull out their armed men from all the cities and provinces (they seized) including Sanaa".

 

Houthis and Al-Qaeda have been fighting over control in al-Bayda' for several days now. 

 

The clashes broke out on Friday evening when Houthi fighters trying to wrest control of the mountains around Rada of the al-Bayda' province, tribal sources said.

 

The Shiite movement has been controlling the Yemeni capital Sanaa since 21 September, but it is now moving to extend its control to other areas.

 

Yemen has been in turmoil since a popular uprising that erupted in 2011 ousted long-serving president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012.

 

Houthi control over the Yemeni capital has raised fears of an intensified sectarian Sunni-Shiite war in Yemen.

 

On Sunday, the rebels took over several of these areas after a suspected US drone and army jets raided the positions held by Al-Qaeda and the Sunni tribesmen.

 

One source said "20 Al-Qaeda militants" were killed in the strikes, although the toll could not be independently confirmed.