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Gunbattles Rage as Yemen's Rebel Alliance Unravels

by VOA News

   Gunbattles erupted in the Yemeni capital Sana'a Sunday as an alliance
   between the Iran-backed Shi'ite rebels known as the Houthis and former
   president Ali Abdullah Saleh appeared to have fallen apart.

   The two sides joined ranks three years ago and swept across the
   capital, Sana'a, forcing the country's internationally recognized
   President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country and seek military
   intervention led by Saudi Arabia.

   The Houthis' political office have accused Saleh of staging a "coup"
   against "an alliance he never believed in" after he offered to initiate
   talks with the Saudi coalition. In a televised speech, Saleh asked for
   an end to the siege on Yemeni ports and offered, in exchange, to "turn
   a new page" and "deal with them in a positive way."

   Clashes between fighters loyal to Saleh and the Houthis first erupted
   last week when Saleh accused the rebels of storming his giant mosque in
   Sana'a and attacking his nephew, the powerful commander of the special
   forces, Tarek Saleh.
   Both sides have set up checkpoints, placed snipers on rooftops and
   sealed off entrances to the city. But many state institutions,
   including the airport, state TV headquarters and the official news
   agency, remain under the control of the Houthis.

   United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged
   warring parties in Yemen to stop all ground and air assaults. In a
   statement released Sunday, the U.N. said the sharp escalation of armed
   clashes and airstrikes in Sana'a has already resulted in dozens of
   deaths and hundreds of injuries, including civilians.
   Fighting is restricting the movement of people and life-saving services
   within Sana'a city. Ambulances and medical teams cannot access the
   injured and people cannot go outside to buy food and other necessities,
   it said. Aid workers are unable to travel and implement critical
   life-saving programs at a time when millions of Yemenis rely on
   assistance to survive.

   Yemen is one of the Arab world's poorest countries. Since 2015, it has
   been locked in a devastating civil war pitting Saudi-backed government
   forces against Iranian-supported rebels.

   Yemen has become a humanitarian catastrophe, with more than 10,000
   people killed in the fighting and at least 2 million displaced. A
   cholera outbreak has infected nearly 1 million people.