Reuters/Sanaa
Houthi militiamen opened fire on protesters in the central Yemeni city of Ibb yesterday, killing one person and wounding another, activists said.
The crowd had gathered in a square after a new power-sharing deal was reached on Friday to demonstrate against the Houthis’ role in overturning the government last month.
Following the shooting, thousands more people took to the streets in protest. Witnesses said the Houthis were deploying more security forces in response.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s former president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has escaped his official residence in Sanaa after weeks of house arrest by the Houthi militia and flown to his home town of Aden, a senior political sourc said.
Yemen’s feuding political parties had agreed on Friday to create a transitional council to help govern the country and allow a government to continue operating with input from rival factions after the effective Houthi takeover.
Western countries are worried that unrest in Yemen could create opportunities for Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to plot more attacks against international targets.
Late on Friday a drone destroyed a car carrying suspected members of AQAP in Shawbwa Province, a bastion of the militant group in the rugged mountains of southern Yemen, killing at least three people, residents said.
The US has acknowledged it carries out drone strikes against militant targets in Yemen but does not comment on specific attacks. The strikes, which have sometimes killed civilians, have angered many people in the country.
The car was travelling in the Wadi al-Houta district of Shabwa, the residents said. They saw flames surging out of the vehicle and heard several small explosions coming from it after it was struck.
Yemeni protesters taking part in rally against the Houthi militia in the city of Ibb, 190kms southwest of Sanaa, yesterday.