(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Yemen's Shia Houthi fighters tightened their grip on the capital Sana'a yesterday after seizing much of the city in a lightning advance and signing an overnight deal to win a share of power, capping a decade-long guerrilla uprising.
The Zaydi Shias, who make up 30 percent of Yemen's population of 25 million and ruled a kingdom there for 1,000 years, have complained of being marginalised since their last king in Sana'a was overthrown in a 1962 revolution.
Houthi followers gathered in the streets, some chanting "Death to America! Death to the Jews! Victory to Islam", while armed suporters in civilian clothes deployed alongside government soldiers across Sanaa.
The Houthis, named for the tribe of their founder, had fought for more rights for Shias in Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries, where the United States is waging a separate drone air war against Al Qaeda.
The Houthis are seen as allied to Iran, the main Shi'ite power in the region and mortal foe of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni monarchies of the Gulf. Their Zaydi Shia sect is related to but separate from the sect practiced in Iran. A Houthi delegation signed a power sharing agreement with other parties late on Sunday after seizing much of the capital within a few hours, facing limited opposition from government troops who appeared reluctant to fight. Medical sources said 200 people were killed.
The Houthis have long been shunned by Yemen's political elite. They complained they were left out of a Gulf-brokered power transfer deal after "Arab Spring" protests forced veteran leader Ali Abdullah Saleh to quit in 2012 in favour of his then vice president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
In addition to the insurgency by Houthis, Yemen has also been plagued by war against Sunni Al Qaeda militants who are targeted by US drone strikes, and by separatism in the formerly independent south. Although a National Dialogue process which ended this year agreed to devolve more power to Yemen's regions, the Houthis disagreed with the geographic boundaries that were proposed.
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