By Mohamed al-Samei
SANAA
At least 82 people were killed in two days of deadly clashes between Shiite Houthi militants and tribesmen in a flashpoint village in Yemen's central Al-Bayda' province, a local official has said.
"Seventy Houthis and 12 tribesmen were killed in two days of clashes in Khabza village," the official, requesting anonymity, told Anadolu Agency on Saturday.
He said that precarious calm prevailed in the area on Saturday, one day after Houthis seized control of the flashpoint village.
Houthi leaders were not immediately available for comment on the report, although the group seldom discloses casualty figures.
The Houthis have controlled capital Sanaa since September 21, when they signed an agreement with Yemen's presidency aimed at ending the country's ongoing political stalemate.
Since then, the Houthis have sought to extend their control to other parts of the country.
Yemen has been dogged by political turmoil since a popular uprising that erupted in 2011 toppled longstanding president Ali Abdullah Saleh one year later.
Some Arab capitals accuse Shiite Iran of backing Yemen's ongoing Houthi insurgency.
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