Rebels tighten grip on Sanaa after ex-president’s death

By Murad al-Arifi

SANAA (AA) – Houthi rebels have tightened their control over Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday, one day after former president Ali Abdullah Saleh was shot dead amid rebel infighting.

Dozens of checkpoints have been erected across streets in Sanaa as rebels stopped moving vehicles for inspection, according to local residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to security fears.

Houthi fighters also boosted their presence in Al-Siyasi district in northern Sanaa, the scene of deadly clashes with Saleh’s loyalists in recent days, residents said.

The Shia Houthi group also redeployed its forces in Judur district near Sanaa airport, where fierce clashes erupted between Houthi rebels and pro-Saleh tribesmen.

Meanwhile, Houthi fighters raided a number of residential areas in Sanaa, arresting scores of Saleh’s loyalists, according to a source in the slain president’s General People’s Congress.

On Monday, Houthi militiamen executed Saleh -- who had until recently been considered an ally of the Houthis -- after waylaying his motorcade outside Sanaa.

Yemen has remained dogged by violence since 2014, when the Houthis and Saleh loyalists overran much of the country, including the capital.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen.