25 killed in clashes in northern Yemen

AHMED AL-HAJ
Associated Press

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — At least 25 people have been killed in the last 24 hours in clashes between Sunni tribesmen affiliated with Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood group and Shiite rebels in the northern city of Jawf, tribal and security officials said on Monday.

The Shiite rebels, known as the Hawthis, have routed their Islamist rivals in a series of battles in recent months that have allowed them to expand the area under their control in northern Yemen, where they waged a six-year insurgency that ended in a 2010 cease-fire deal.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

The Hawthis, already in control of the northern city of Saada, have been staging demonstrations in the capital Sanaa for more than a month demanding a new government and reinstatement of fuel subsidies. Critics have portrayed the demonstrations as part of a power grab.

Yemen, which is among the poorest countries in the Arab world, faces several conflicts, including with an increasingly assertive separatist movement in the south and a powerful al-Qaida affiliate that mainly operates in the south and east.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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