Houthis besiege Yemen Defense Minister's house in Sanaa

Militants from the Shia Houthi movement on Saturday besieged the residence of Yemeni Defense Minister, Mahmoud al-Subaihi, in capital Sanaa, a minister’s guard has said.

“Houthi militants laid a siege to al-Subaihi’s residence  in southern Sanaa and barred anyone from going in or out,”  the guard told  Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.

He declined to mention whether the minister was inside the house at the time or not. The guard said the Houthi militants also set up a number of checkpoints in the vicinity of the Defense Minister’s house.

Tribal leaders from the northeastern province of Ma’arib had arrived in a bid to lift the siege around the house of the minister, according to the guard.

Houthi militants also besieged the houses of other Yemeni officials on Friday and raided the parliament building, other witnesses said.

They added that the Houthis were besieging the house of Yemen’s National Security Service Chief, Gen. Mohamed al-Ahmadi, as well.

The witnesses noted that Houthis especially encircle the houses of government officials who hail from southern Yemen.

Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and his resigned Prime Minister Khaled Bahah hail from the southern part of the restive Arab country.

The Houthis emerged as a formidable political and military force in Yemen when they assumed control of capital Sanaa in September of 2014 before moving on to establish control over other parts of Yemen.

Over the past few days, Sanaa has been rocked by deadly clashes between Houthi militants and presidential guard units amid an apparent push by the former to consolidate control over the country.

The rise of the Houthis has pitted the Shia group against local Sunni tribes and Al-Qaeda, the latter of which is said to remain active in Yemen.

Yemen has remained in the throes of turmoil since President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down in 2012 under pressure from a months-long popular uprising against his 33-year rule.