Loading ...SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Shiite rebels and Sunni militiamen battled in the streets of the Yemeni capital for a second day Friday in fighting that has killed at least 120 people, driven thousands from their homes and virtually shut down the country’s main airport. The battles are raising fears of greater sectarian conflict, unseen for decades in Yemen.
Yemen has been chronically unstable for years. But its main fight has been by the government against al-Qaida militants who operate in the south and the mountainous center of the country.
In the past few months, however, the Shiite rebels known as the Hawthis have become one of the country’s most powerful players. They surged from their stronghold in the north, taking a string of cities and have fought to the capital, Sanaa.
Their main opponent has been Sunni Muslim hardliners — militias and army units allied with the Islah party, which is the Muslim Brotherhood’s branch in Yemen, or tribal fighters sympathetic with the Brotherhood or al-Qaida. The government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, an ally of the United States, appears largely caught in the middle between the two forces.
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