Yemen rebel unity falters

The rebel alliance controlling Yemen's capital appeared to crumble Saturday as a strongman opposed to the internationally recognised government reached out to a Saudi-led coalition fighting the insurgents.

The rift within rebel ranks erupted into violence in Sanaa this week, raising fears of a new front in a three-year war that has claimed thousands of lives and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe.

Ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who joined forces with the Iran-backed Huthi rebels to seize the capital in 2014, said he was ready to talk to the Saudi-led coalition if it lifts a crippling blockade on Yemen. The coalition welcomed the offer of talks.

His about-face sparked warnings of retribution by the Huthis, whose leader accused Saleh of "great treason".

Fresh clashes forced schools shut and shops shuttered in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday as residents warned a three-year rebel alliance was crumbling into a "street war".

Witnesses said forces loyal to Saleh had cut off a number of streets in central Sanaa and deployed heavily in anticipation of a possible attack by the Huthi rebels.

Loyalists of the former strongman renewed a bid to seize control of Al-Jarraf district, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Huthis, while the rebels fortified their positions with dozens of vehicles mounted with machine guns.

Residents of various neighbourhoods said they had barricaded themselves in their homes to avoid snipers and shelling as clashes flared up around key ministries where the two sides had been working together just days before, reported AFP.

UN and other aid officials said yesterday the United Nations is trying to evacuate at least 140 aid workers from the Yemeni capital amid fighting that has cut off the airport road but it awaits approval from the Saudi-led coalition.

Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi yesterday denied a claim by Iran-backed Huthi rebels that a missile fired from Yemen reached its air space or threatened a nuclear power plant set to open in 2018.

For decades bitter enemies, Saleh and rebel chief Abdulmalik al-Huthi joined forces three years ago to drive President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government from Sanaa.

But their fragile alliance has shown signs of unravelling for months.

Saleh's open overture to Riyadh came a day after talks with the Huthis failed to broker a truce.

"I call on our brothers in neighbouring countries... to stop their aggression and lift the blockade... and we will turn the page," he said in a televised speech.

“We vow to our brothers and neighbours that, after a ceasefire is in place and the blockade is lifted ... we will hold dialogue directly through the legitimate authority represented by our parliament."