90 killed in clashes between Houthis, Saleh forces - Yemen

Sputnik
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 23:36 UTC

Four-day clashes between former allies in Yemen's capital of Sanaa have resulted in heavy casualties.

At least 90 people were killed in clashes between Houthi rebels and forces loyal to Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, which used to be allies in fight against the country's current government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a military source told Sputnik on Saturday, adding that Saleh's supporters seized 75 percent of the territory of the country's capital Sanaa.

"The elite forces, known as the republican guard, have established today control over the southern and eastern sides of the capital by 75 percent, occasional clashes continue with a limited number of Houthis," the source from forces loyal to Saleh said.

According to the source, the republican guard took control over the presidential residence, a number of military camps, as well as the Sanaa international airport and police academy.

While the fighting is currently taking place in the western part of the city, further action by Saleh supporters is set to take place in Sanaa's north, where the power of Houthis is concentrated, the source emphasized.

On Thursday night, representatives of the two groups engaged in clashes at a mosque in Sanaa, which spread to other parts of the city. Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party said that Houthis attempted to carry out a coup and promised safety to Houthi commanders if they remained neutral. Earlier in the day, military sources told Sputnik that Houthi rebels had withdrawn from most parts of the Yemeni capital.

Most recently, Saleh has called on the Saudi-led coalition, which has been fighting the Houthi movement since 2015, to turn a "new page" in relations after almost three years of the civil war.

Comment: Today Houthi forces have reportedly re-taken Saleh's residence in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. So there are conflicting reports. Yesterday, Saleh had allegedly taken most of Sanaa. Today, the Houthis reportedly have it. Fog of war? The Duran reports:

Subsequent to this development, Houthi online social media outlets have been quick to discredit Saleh. Claiming to have taken Saleh's compound in Sana'a, they released a photograph showing a table filled with luxury alcoholic drinks, something which would infuriate the pious followers of Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi.
This all leads one to conclude that where the Yemeni conflict once was between factions loyal to one of two Yemeni Presidents (Saleh and Hadi), now the conflict is officially one where the Houthis are fighting everyone else, including Hadi's forces, Saleh's forces who have turned on the Houthis and more importantly, the military of Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi star among the wider Islamic Resistance has grown due to their ability to see off a vastly more powerful Saudi led onslaught ever since 2015.

If the Houthis are able to continue holding off Saudi Arabia, even without Saleh on their side, the embarrassment for Saudi Arabia will be all the more apparent. The Houthis do not need to "win", they simply need Saudi to lose, in order to claim a meaningful victory. The Saudis on the other hand, need to take Sana'a in order to justify their aggressive war to their own side which is experiencing an onset of war fatigue.