Yemeni head of security accuses Houthis of staging 'coup'

UN special envoy to Yemen, Jamal bin Omar on Sunday called on all parties to immediately abide by all the terms of the peace agreement in order to address the rising security concerns in the country, reported Alarbiya.

The UN has expressed its readiness to provide technical support for the implementation of the peace agreement that was signed on 21 September between the Houthi rebels and Yemeni president Abd Rabu Mansur Hadi, Omar said. 

But tensions remain high in the troubled capital. An al-Qaeda affiliate group on Saturday night took responsibility for a rocket attack that hit near the American Embassy in the capital, although the Americans have said that they don't believe they were the intended target. 

The head of Yemen’s national security agency Ali Hassan al-Ahmadi on Saturday also narrowly escaped an assassination attempt that rocked his home. Two Houthi rebels and one Yemeni soldier were killed in the clashes. 

The attack came shortly after controversial comments appeared in Yemeni press in which Ahmadi called the Houthi's entry into Sana'a, their seizure of several military camps and their targeting of the state television building a "coup" against the government, reported Erem news agency.

Ahmadi went even further in an interview to the Kuwaiti newspaper Politics, saying that more than 20,000 armed Houthis had recently came into the capital to take part in the “fall of Sana'a” and he accused Iran of financially and militarily supporting the rebels.

The Houthis first set up protest camps a month ago, and soon began to occupy key government buildings, such as ministries. 

Ahmadi also slammed the Houthi leadership of intentionally procrastinated over the signing the peace agreement, and accused Houthi leaders of stalling in order to allow them to finalise their victories on the ground. Ahmadi went on to describe the final agreement as a cover up for a Houthi "coup".

The head of intelligence further accused unnamed parties for using the Houthis to take revenge on the government as well as other political groups.

Houth leader Ali al-Bakhti hit back, blasting Ahmadi, and accusing him of killing tens of young revolutionaries and covering up his crime. Bakhti then called Ahmadi to be sacked, Erem News reported. 

Embattled Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, warned Tuesday of "civil war" and vowed to restore state authority, despite the Shiite lightening capture of much of the capital.

Following days of deadly clashes with army troops, Houthi militants earlier this week managed to seize several state institutions in Sana'a, including the cabinet and parliament buildings and Defence Ministry headquarters.

Hadi – pressured by massive pro-Houthi demonstrations in Sana'a – had signed the deal with the Houthi leadership aimed at ending the tension in and around the capital.

The deal calls for the formation of a new government within three days; the appointment of a nonpartisan prime minister; and the appointment of a Houthi adviser to the president.

However, Houthi protesters, who have erected checkpoints on main streets throughout Sana'a, now appear to have tightened their grip on the capital while looting several army bases across the city.