SANAA
The death toll from several days of fighting between Yemeni army troops and Shiite Houthi militants stands at 274, the Yemeni Health Ministry said Tuesday.
"Ministry medical crews tasked with carrying the dead and injured from conflict areas in northwestern Sanaa have not received any reports of fresh casualties within the past two days," Health Minister Ahmed al-Ansi was quoted by the local media as saying.
According to al-Ansi, at least 470 people – including a number of women and children – were injured in five days of clashes that erupted on September 16 after capital Sanaa fell to Houthi militants.
The minister warned that the death toll could rise further as "additional bodies were buried by relatives, while others were buried by parties to the conflict."
Following days of deadly clashes with army troops, Houthi militants last week managed to seize most state institutions in Sanaa, including the cabinet and parliament buildings and Defense Ministry headquarters.
In an effort to end the ongoing tension in Sanaa, President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi – pressured by massive pro-Houthi demonstrations – signed a deal with the Houthi leadership in which he made several political concessions.
These concessions include the formation of a new government; the appointment of a nonpartisan prime minister; and the appointment of a Houthi adviser to the president.
Houthi militants, meanwhile, appear to have tightened their grip on the capital, where they have erected checkpoints on main streets and reportedly looted several army bases.
Yemen has been dogged by political turmoil since the 2012 ouster of longtime ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh.
www.aa.com.tr/en
