Yemen troops clash with Houthi rebels
Government forces target Shia rebels in air strikes, throwing a deal to end a weeks-long standoff into jeopardy.
Government forces have clashed with Houthi rebels in the capital and launched air strikes targeting the movement’s fighters east of Sanaa, a deal to end a weeks-long standoff into jeopardy.
Clashes broke out near a state TV building in the north of Sanaa, when troops stopped a rebel truck loaded with weapons, military officials told the Associated Press news agency.
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Fighting also intensified in the restive Marib province, where the military launched air strikes targeting Houthi positions.
The authorities said a senior Houthi commander was killed in one of the raids.
The flare-up came despite the Houthis saying they were close to signing a deal reached with the government.
Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Sanaa, said an agreement had been reached about appointing a technocrat prime minister, and cutting fuel prices by almost 30 percent.
However, a stumbling block has been the Houthis demand that the deal be signed in their stronghold in the northern city of Saada, while President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi wants to sign it in the capital.
The rebels, also known as Zaidis or Ansarullah, have been camped in Sanaa in a bid to oust the government, which they accuse of corruption.
Yemen has been locked in a protracted transition since longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced from power in February 2012 after a deadly 11-month uprising.