Yemeni
rebels have seized the country's presidential palace and attacked the
US-backed leader's official residence in what is being described by one
top military leader as a 'coup'.
President Abed
Rabbo Mansour Hadi was inside his official residence as it came under
'heavy shelling' for half-an-hour on Tuesday Jan 20,2015
Colonel Saleh al-Jamalani, the commander of the Presidential Protection Force that guards the palace, said: 'This is a coup. There is no other word to describe what is happening but a coup.'
Colonel al-Jamalani added the rebels were most likely helped by insiders.
The attack came after apparently unsuccessful talks between the two sides at Haidi's official residence that morning
The meeting
was to discuss the release of Ahmed bin Mubarak - the president's top
aide, kidnapped after Hadi allegedly breached a UN-brokered peace deal.
In return for his release, the Houthis were asking for changes in constitution and national authority
On Monday Jan 19,2015, the Houthis had seized control of state media in Sanaa, clashing with soldiers near the presidential palace
On Tuesday Jan 20,2015,
Houthi fighters were on the streets, travelling in pickup trucks
mounted with anti-aircraft guns, while manning checkpoints across the
capital - including near the prime minister's residence and the
intelligence headquarters.
Information
Minister Nadia al-Sakkaf posted on her Twitter account that the
shelling started at 3pm local time 'by armed forces positioned over
rooftops facing' the president's house
Abdel-Bari
Taher, a veteran Yemeni journalist and writer, said: 'What is happening
now is just one more step toward (the Houthis') consolidation of
power.'
But the
Houthis' television network al-Masseria claimed the attack came after
rebels intercepted and foiled attempts by an unspecified group to loot
weapons from the presidential palace.
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