Yemen army, fighters clashes kill 2, wound 14

Clashes between the Yemeni army and Shia fighters in the country’s capital Sana’a kill at least two people and wound 14 others.

The clashes erupted on Monday.

The bodies and the wounded have been brought to the Quds Military Hospital close to the presidential palace in southern Sana’a.

- Mortar attack

Witnesses have said that a mortar round was fired at the hospital earlier. Ambulances were sent to the area to assist the wounded.

Eyewitnesses have confirmed heavy exchange of fire between the Yemeni Presidential Guard and the Shia Ansarullah movement.

The Guard, armed with heavy weaponry, had been positioned around the hospital because of the morning confrontations hours before the mortar attack.

- Unabated violence

Clashes continue between Ansarullah fighters and government troops as a ceasefire has reportedly been revoked.

Ansarullah revolutionaries, also known as Houthis, battled soldiers near the Presidential Palace and elsewhere across the capital on Monday.

According to witnesses, gunfire and several explosions were heard around the city and near the palace in southern Sana’a as columns of black smoke could be seen rising over the place.

“Oh God! There are bodies on street,” a Yemeni activist wrote in a message posted on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the Houthis’ al-Maseera satellite television channel said the military opened fire on their patrol in the area of the palace, which led to the outbreak of violence.

Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi does not live at the palace; however, additional soldiers and tanks surrounded his residence nearby amid irregular gunfire, witnesses said.

Yemeni Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf had earlier said Hadi cut a ceasefire deal with Houthi fighters. Clashes later resumed, with more smoke billowing out of the Presidential Palace.

Sakkaf further said that Prime Minister Khaled Bahah’s convoy was targeted after leaving Hadi’s home. He has reportedly escaped the attack unharmed.

She further said that Ansarullah forces have taken control of the country’s state-run media.

In a separate development, Yemeni media reported that the oil production in Hadhramaut province’s Masila field came to a halt on Monday.

Yemen has seen rising tensions between Ansarullah fighters and government troops after the Shia fighters arrested Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Hadi’s chief of staff, at a checkpoint in the country’s southern district of Hada.

Mubarak is also the secretary general of the national dialogue committee, which aims to secure a political transition in the country. Ansarullah revolutionaries accuse him of being a foreign agent.

The violence apparently stems from Houthis’ rejection of a draft constitution that seeks to divide the country into six federal regions.