PM quits as Shiite rebels seize Yemen government HQ Shiite rebels seized the Yemeni government headquarters Sunday and the premier resigned as violence raged despite a UN announcement of a power-sharing deal to end days of fighting, officials said. Prime Minister Mohamed Basindawa stepped aside, accusing President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi of being “autocratic”, senior officials said. State news agency Saba reported Basindawa’s resignation, but without giving the reason. Mohammed Abdulsalam, spokesman for the Ansarullah rebels, also known as Huthis, confirmed on his Facebook page that the seat of government had been taken. Earlier, shelling and gunfire in the north of Sanaa was heard across the city, as Sunni militiamen and troops battled the rebels, prompting an exodus of terrified residents, an AFP correspondent reported. A week of fighting has left dozen of people dead on both sides and forced the suspension of all flights into and out of Sanaa airport, which is in the battle zone. There was no let-up in the fighting on Saturday night despite Hadi ordering an after-dark curfew. The clashes centred on the campus of Al-Iman University, a bastion of Sunni Islamists that the Shiite rebels have been trying to capture, witnesses said. The violence came despite UN envoy Jamal Benomar announcing late on Saturday that a deal had been reached after “intense consultations with all the political parties, including Ansarullah”.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 16:39:40 +0000
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