SANAA (Sputnik) — 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.
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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 Earlier in the day, military sources told Sputnik that Houthi rebels had withdrawn from most parts of the Yemeni capital.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.
