SANAA
Yemen's Shiite Houthi group maintained its presence in the central city of Ibb despite an earlier agreement with local tribes for all armed groups to pull out of the city, a local official said Sunday.
"The Houthi militants maintained their presence in several roads and offices in the city as well as the checkpoints they erected last week," the official who asked not to be named told Anadolu Agency.
The Houthi group and local tribes on Saturday reached a deal making it necessary for all militant groups to pull out of Ibb under the auspices of the governor of the central Yemeni province which carries the same name.
The armed tribesmen have already left the city in accordance with the agreement, the source said.
The deal followed two days of clashes between Houthis and tribesmen, which left around 25 people dead.
The Houthis entered the city on Wednesday and set up checkpoints on the streets, facing no resistance from the authorities.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that a group of Houthi members have bombed the house of tribal chieftain Ali Badair in Yarim town in the province. It is yet unclear whether Badair was at the house at the time of the bombing.
The Shiite Yemeni group has been controlling the Yemeni capital Sanaa since September 21, even as they signed an agreement with the Yemeni President to end their country's political stalemate a few hours earlier.
Since then Houthis have been trying to extend their control to other Yemeni provinces.
Yemen has been suffering turmoil since a popular uprising that erupted in 2011 toppled longstanding president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012.
Some Arab capitals accuse Iran of backing the ongoing Houthi insurgency in Yemen.
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