MOSCOW, November 26 (Sputnik) – Five people were killed in clashes between Shi'ite Houthi fighters and Sunni tribal opponents in Sanaa early on Wednesday, in some of the worst violence in Yemen's capital since it was seized by the Houthi movement in September, reports Reuters.
The clashes erupted between Houthi fighters and members of the Sunni al-Ahmar clan early in the morning and continued for two hours. Some locals said that Ahmar followers had refused to stop at a checkpoint.
The Houthis have become the main political force in Western-allied Yemen since capturing the capital in late September. Most of the Houthis belong to Sunni Islamist party Islah, with its leaders from the alAhmar family, who dominate a tribal bloc, as reported by Reuters.
In a statement on their website, Houthis said they were searching the Hasba area after the attack to pursue those who had fled.
During the Arab spring in 2011, autocrat leader Ali Abdullah Saleh was overthrown by the pro-democracy party and the military divided between forces loyal to Saleh and those supporting General Ali Mohsen alAhmar, a Sunni Islamist-leaning general who had backed the uprising and who went on to become a military adviser to Hadi, reports Reuters.
This divide weakened the Yemeni army and contributed to the rise of al Qaeda militants and the advance of the Houthis, whom General Ahmar has battled in a series of devastating wars.
