At least 30 people have been killed in clashes between pro- and anti-government forces in central Yemen, tribal sources said Tuesday according to the AFP on 24 March 2015.
The Shiite Houthi militia, backed by Iran and troops allied to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, clashed with armed tribesmen in Baida province late Monday, the sources said, adding that nine tribesmen and 15 Huthi fighters were killed.
The tribesmen booby-trapped two houses used as bases by Huthi fighters and ambushed several patrols, the sources added.
 
Meanwhile, clashes raged late Monday in Marib, east of Sanaa, where tribesmen loyal to Yemen’s internationally backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi confronted advancing Houthi fighters and pro-Saleh troops, tribal sources said.
Six tribesmen, including a tribal chief, were killed in these clashes. The sources said that many Houthis had also been killed.
The advancing forces included units from the former presidential guard, an elite force that Saleh built during his three-decade rule, the sources added.
The gunfights took place as the Huthis, who seized control of Sanaa last year, sent additional reinforcements south, upping pressure on Hadi, who has taken refuge in the southern port city of Aden.
Hadi last month escaped house arrest in Sanaa imposed by the Shiite militia, fleeing to Aden where he retracted an earlier resignation tendered under pressure from the Huthis.
Demonstrations continued Tuesday in Taez against the arrival of pro-Saleh forces and militiamen in the city, after security sources said they seized the airport.
The head of Taez police denied late Monday that the airport or other government installations had been taken over.
In a statement carried by Saba state news agency, which is now controlled by anti-Hadi forces, General Mutahar al-Shuaybi said air traffic at Taez remained “normal”.
The United Nations Security Council voiced support for Hadi on Monday, as UN envoy Jamal Benomar warned that Yemen was facing the prospect of a protracted civil war.