Revolutionary Ansarullah fighters take over Sana’a army academy

Revolutionary fighters of Ansarullah movement in Yemen have reportedly seized the military academy in the capital city of Sana’a.

Witnesses say the Shia fighters of Houthi tribe entered the academy on Friday with no resistance from the guards and stationed their patrols inside.

“The Houthis are now in control of the academy’s gates,” a witness said.

Neither the Ansarullah nor the government has offered any comment with regard to the issue.

The development comes a few days after Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi said that Ansarullah fighters might be allowed to join the Yemeni army.

Over the past months, al-Qaeda militants have frequently carried out attacks on Yemen’s security forces and have been also locked in deadly battles with Ansarullah fighters.

Yemen’s central government has so far failed to confront the terrorist threat. Ansarullah fighters, however, have intervened to fill the vacuum and driven al-Qaeda militants out of many areas in the country.

In September, Ansarullah revolutionary fighters gained control over key government buildings in the capital, Sana’a, following weeks of demonstrations and a four-day battle with army forces loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the half-brother of the country’s former dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

On November 2, Yemen’s main political parties, including the Ansarullah revolutionaries, signed a UN-brokered truce deal in a bid to put an end to the political crisis crippling the country.

On November 9, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi swore in the country’s new government despite opposition from Ansarullah revolutionaries which called for replacement of a number of newly-appointed ministers on the grounds of corruption and lacking qualification.

The Ansarullah movement played a major role in the popular uprising that forced Saleh to step down in 2012 after more than 33 years in power.