Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, is in lockdown with heavy fighting around the presidential palace and the country’s Prime Minister in hiding after being shot at.
There are conflicting accounts about the cause of the clashes. Government officials have described it as a power grab by Shiite Houthis, while Houthi officials say Yemen’s military attacked people demanding the lifting of road closures introduced as a security measure after the presidential chief of staff was abducted in Sanaa last week.
It is unclear who fired first near the presidential palace Monday, control of which is seen as key to the control of the whole country. As well as government buildings, there are reports of a hospital and residential buildings being hit.
Amid the constant rumbling of artillery fire, both sides seem unable to agree on a common scenario.
Prime Minister Khaled Bahah was fired upon when he left a meeting with the President and the Houthi political group Ansarallah, Yemen Information Minister Nadia Al Sakkaf said. Bahah was unharmed, but is now in hiding, she said.
The gunfire came from a Houthi checkpoint near the meeting place, and the attempt to kill the Prime Minister was a breach on an earlier ceasefire, Al Sakkaf said.
But a senior Houthi official condemned the attack and denied the group had anything to do with it, blaming it on an unnamed third party. Houthis said their convoy had also been fired upon after leaving the talks.
Adding to the disputes, the information minister said Yemeni state TV and the state-run Saba news agency are now under the control of the Houthi political movement. But senior Houthi official Ali AlShami denied the movement was in control of either news outlet.
A U.S. official said the United States was monitoring the violence and had sufficient military power nearby to evacuate its embassy “on short notice” if needed.
Power struggle
Al Sakkaf said gunmen linked to the Houthi political movement were attacking the presidential palace in a bid to take control of the symbol of power.
President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi was not in the building and is safe, Al Sakkaf said, but government officials were among an unknown number of casualties.
Houthi rebels claimed responsibility Saturday for the abduction of the presidential Chief of Staff Ahmed bin Mubarak.
Al Sakkaf said Monday’s dispute began when the government tried to implement a security plan as it feared more abductions of key staff.
But a top Houthi official said they tried to mediate with the army and asked for the roads to be opened for citizens, which led to their people getting attacked. He said they then had to defend themselves.
Hadi appointed bin Mubarak as premier back in October, but the rebels rejected the nomination.
Osama Sari, senior media adviser to the Houthi movement in Yemen, said the Houthis had detained bin Mubarak as a message to the President.
This was because the President wanted to introduce a new constitution without the approval of the Houthis, Sari said.
Hadi was elected President in February 2012. He was the only candidate on the ballot.
There are concerns that as Yemen spirals into greater sectarian violence, al Qaeda — a predominantly Sunni group — will gain a greater foothold there, with more recruits and a base from which to attack other targets.