Forces loyal to Yemen's former president seized government buildings in the southern city of Aden on Monday after a five-hour battle, sources said, escalating a civil conflict that threatens to split the country in two.
The militias supporting Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi wrested control of several buildings in the city from security forces allied to the Houthi movement, the sources said.
The country's north is dominated by the Shi'ite Muslim Houthis, who seized power in the capital Sanaa last month, while in the south forces loyal to Hadi and separatists seeking to restore the former South Yemen appear to be in control.
Sources said fighters loyal to Hadi's brother seized Aden's television building, its main power station, the intelligence headquarters and the free zone authority offices in five hours of clashes overnight with forces led by a general seen as allied to the Houthis.
Aden's governor Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour, in remarks carried by the Defense Ministry's 26 September news website, confirmed the clashes but denied the television station had been seized by the Hadi loyalists.
The United Nations Security Council on Sunday (February 15) demanded Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen withdraw from government institutions, called for an end to foreign interference and threatened "further steps" if the violence does not stop.
"Today we have made clear that those who use violence and intimidation to try to dictate Yemen's future are undermining the security of all Yemeni citizens and are eroding the political progress made since 2011," said British U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, who also helped draft the security council resolution.
Also on the list of demands was the immediate release of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Prime Minister Khaled Baha and members of the former cabinet, all currently under house arrest.
The United Nations has warned that Yemen is collapsing. Shi'ite Muslim Houthi fighters have sidelined the central government after seizing the capital Sanaa in September and expanding across Yemen, which borders oil giant Saudi Arabia.
Al Qaeda and other Sunni Muslim militants have since stepped up attacks. Yemen is home to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the global network's most active arms, which has carried out attacks abroad.
The 15-nation Security Council unanimously adopted a British- and Jordanian-drafted resolution on the crisis on Sunday.
"The people of Yemen deserve a clear path back to the political transition process and the legitimate government based on these agreements and the resolutions of this council, with a publicly announced timeline, and specific dates for the completion of a new constitution, a constitutional referendum, and national elections," said U.S. Ambassador the U.N., Samantha Power.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, a six-nation bloc comprising energy-rich Gulf states, had urged the Security Council to adopt a resolution under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows decisions to be enforced with economic sanctions or force. The approved U.N. resolution is not under Chapter 7.
The council declared its readiness to take further steps if the resolution is not implemented by parties in
Yemen.
In November, the council imposed sanctions on Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and two Houthi leaders.
REUTERS