Houthis, Yemeni military battle near president’s palace

SANAA, Yemen – Houthi rebels battled soldiers near Yemen’s presidential palace this morning, witnesses said. The status of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was not immediately clear.

Witnesses nearby told the Associated Press that heavy machine gun fire could be heard as mortars fell around the palace. Civilians in the area fled the fighting as columns of black smoke rose over the palace.

The Houthis’ al-Maseera satellite television channel accused the army of opening fire on a militia patrol in the area of the presidential palace, sparking the violence. A Yemeni military official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to brief journalists, said the Houthis provoked the attack by approaching several checkpoints and military positions in the area.

The Houthis seized large areas of Yemen, including Sanaa, last year as part of their protracted power struggle with Hadi. Critics say the Houthis are a proxy for Shiite Iran, charges the rebels deny.

Hadi took over the presidency after a popular revolt toppled his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in 2011. In recent days, the Houthis kidnapped Hadi’s chief of staff, widening the conflict.

Saleh is widely considered to be backing the Houthis. Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said they believed tribal fighters loyal to Saleh were racing into Sanaa to back the Houthis in the fighting.