Clashes erupted Tuesday around the presidential palace in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, a day after heavy fighting between government forces and Houthi militants ended in a ceasefire deal.
Several tweets from the Yemeni Information Ministry say the presidential palace is under attack.
However, two Interior Ministry officials say the palace has in fact been taken by the Houthis, Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni Muslim country.
CNN could not independently confirm the reports.
Nine people were killed and 67 others injured in the fighting between government forces and Houthi militants on Monday, Yemen’s Health Ministry said, before the sides agreed to a ceasefire.
It’s not clear whether the renewed fighting has now brought the peace talks to an end.
Gunfire could be heard sporadically across the city Tuesday, whereas a day earlier it was constant.
Unknown assailants fired shots Monday night at a U.S. Embassy vehicle in Sanaa, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday.
The shooters fired first into the air and then turned the guns on its vehicle, the embassy said. The vehicle carried U.S. diplomatic personnel and was at a checkpoint near the embassy at the time. No injuries were reported.
Prolonged turmoil
The latest violence comes at a time of prolonged turmoil and intermittent clashes between government and opposition forces in Yemen, a U.S. ally in the battle against al Qaeda.
The government faces pressure from not only the Sunni Muslim extremist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula but also the Houthis, Shiite Muslims who have long felt marginalized in the majority Sunni Muslim country.
Houthis swept into the capital last year, sparking battles that left more than 300 dead in a month. In September, they signed a ceasefire deal with the government, and Houthis have since installed themselves in key positions in the government and financial institutions.
But tensions flared again last weekend as Houthis said they abducted presidential Chief of Staff Ahmed bin Mubarak in Sanaa on Saturday. Osama Sari, senior media adviser to the Houthi movement in Yemen, said Houthis detained bin Mubarak because President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi wanted to introduce a new constitution without the Houthis’ approval.
Turmoil between the two sides is worrisome to the West because a power vacuum in Yemen could benefit al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist organization based in Yemen that took credit for the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. It also tried to blow up a plane landing in Detroit in 2009.
