Houthis yet to withdraw despite agreement with Yemeni president

Houthi militiamen had yet to withdraw Thursday from the presidential palace in Yemen's capital Sanaa, as well as several sensitive government and military sites, despite an agreement signed late Wednesday with President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The withdrawal was part of a nine-point deal agreed upon late on Wednesday in a bid to end the crisis that has gripped Sanaa over the past three days.

There's no more security and no more work regardless of what they say about the return of life back to normal. - Usaimi, construction worker

The unrest has seen the Zaydi Shia Houthis further consolidate their control over the capital, which they swept into in September from their strongholds in the northern highlands.

Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak, President Hadi's chief of staff, also remains in the hands of the Houthis, despite his release being part of the deal to end the violence. His abduction on Saturday set off a chain of events that led to Hadi being holed up in his residence - which Houthi militiamen still surround - and on the verge of being overthrown.

"The Houthis were expected to release bin Mubarak by now but he has not been freed yet," a presidency official told AFP.

The concessions agreed by Hadi in the deal, carried on the official SABA news agency, give the Houthis greater say in how Yemen is run. The Houthis say they only want an equal share of power, while critics maintain that they want to retain Hadi as president in name only, while keeping an iron grip on power.

Mansour Hayel, a political analyst, said that the Houthi power grab could prompt the "fragmentation of all of Yemen," which could become "worse than Somalia".

In return for concessions over a disputed draft constitution, the Houthis agreed to vacate the presidential palace, free bin Mubarak, withdraw from areas surrounding the residences of Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah, and abandon checkpoints across the capital.

Among the Houthi rebel gains on Wednesday was the capture of a key military base that houses ballistic missiles outside Sanaa.

The fighting has left at least 35 people dead and dozens wounded.

Constitution row

The situation escalated on Saturday when the militiamen seized the presidential aide in an apparent bid to extract changes to a draft constitution which the Houthis oppose because it would divide Yemen into six federal regions.

The militiamen say it would split the country into rich and poor areas.

Yemen, a key US ally in the fight against al-Qaeda, has been wracked by instability since an uprising forced strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh from power in 2012.

Saleh has been accused of backing the Houthis, as have Iran.

Leaked telephone recordings believed to be of Saleh and a Houthi leader were broadcast on al-Jazeera last night, appearing to bolster allegations that the former foes, who fought six wars against each other between 2004 and 2010, have been cooperated with each other to undermine Hadi - Saleh's former vice-president.

Hadi hails from Yemen's south. Air and sea ports that were closed in solidarity with his situation in the southern city of Aden on Wednesday were reopened today.

Shops in Sanaa also resumed business and people were back on the streets. But tensions are running high and Sanaa University, where the protests that eventually toppled Saleh in 2011 began, remained shut.

"Sanaa is over," said Muhammed al-Usaimi, a 45-year-old construction worker who lives near Hadi's residence.

"There's no more security and no more work regardless of what they say about the return of life back to normal. This will not happen."

Hundreds protested outside Sanaa University calling for a "new revolt" and chanting: "No to coups!"

On Wednesday anti-Houthi protesters had taken to the streets of Taiz in central Yemen in anger at what they perceived to be Houthi aggression.

Wednesday's agreement granted the Zaydi Shia militia most of the demands made in a televised speech by their chief Abdelmalik al-Houthi on Tuesday.

The Houthis have long complained of marginalisation, especially in the wake of their wars with the state.

Wednesday's deal also gives the militiamen a greater presence in state institutions and more government posts.