4 killed in clashes after Yemen's Houthis seize giant mosque

SANAA, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Four supporters of Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed in Wednesday clashes with their allies of dominant Shiite Houthi rebels in central the capital Sanaa, Saleh's party said in a statement.

The statement, which posted on Saleh's General People's Congress party's website hours after the clashes, said other six of Saleh's supporters were wounded in the clashes.

The statement accused Houthi group of seizing the giant mosque, which was built and named after Saleh.

It also accused the Houthis of besieging the residential houses of Saleh and his nephew Tarik in the western part of Sanaa.

Soon after Saleh's party issued the statement, a fierce clashes erupted near the houses of Saleh and his nephew Tarik in Hadda quarter west of the capital.

The dispute first erupted afternoon Wednesday after Saleh's supporters tried to prevent thousands of Houthi supporters from holding a celebration to commemorate the birthday of Muslim Prophet Mohammad in Sabeen square near Saleh's giant mosque in the center of Sanaa.

Saleh's party in the statement accused the Houthi group of seeking to seize control over the mosque.

However, the Houthi armed group seized control over the mosque as well as the square after nearly three hours of clashes, according to eye witnesses.

Following the clashes, ambulances rushed to the scene. Eyewitnesses said they saw around a dozen of Saleh's loyalists were injured and arrested by Houthi fighters.

The Houthi official on condition of anonymity told Xinhua earlier that the situation was under control and the mosque was controlled by the Houthi security force.

He said all Saleh's loyal fighters were arrested, but refused to specify the numbers of casualties.

Houthi rebel movement advanced from their stronghold in the far north province of Saada towards the capital Sanaa in September 2014, where they tightened control over the capital, all government facilities, army and security camps.

Saleh's loyalists and their General People's Congress welcomed the Houthi's move and struck a partner agreement.

The new allies of Houthis and Saleh's party then toppled the legitimate government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and forced Hadi along with his cabinet members into exile in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

The fragile alliance between the two parties has faced many troubles over the vying of controlling the power.

On Aug. 26, a deadly fighting erupted near the residential house of Saleh's son in the southern part of Sanaa, during which Houthis killed a senior security official close to Saleh.

Houthis and Saleh's party have since been trading accusations over allegations of secret links with the U.S.-backed Saudi-led military coalition.

The coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to roll back the Iranian-allied Houthi group and reinstate Hadi into power.

The nearly three years of war has killed over 10,000 Yemeni people, mostly civilians, and pushed the poor Arab country into the most humanitarian catastrophe and near mass famine. Enditem