UN announces Yemen deal

Jamal Benomar, the United Nations envoy to Yemen, said late Saturday that the agreement between the government and the Shiite Hawthi rebels would be signed soon.

"This agreement shall be a national document that will advance the path of peaceful change, and will lay the foundations for national partnership and for security and stability," Benomar said in a statement.

Yemeni forces have been battling to halt the rebels who swept into the country's capital of Sanaa on Thursday from their northwestern mountainous strongholds. Three days of heavy fighting has paralyzed the city and the government of President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.

Weeks of unrest and violence

Three civilians were killed on Saturday in a bomb attack near the Iman University within Sanaa, according to health officials. Rebels had tried to seize the university from fighters of the Sunni Islah (Reform) party. A hospital in the area was also hit by shellfire, leaving one person dead and three wounded, a hospital worker said.

Over 50 people have been killed in fighting over the past three days, say authorities. The authorities imposed a curfew on Saturday on parts of the capital.

Mass demonstrations led by the Hawthi minority have been going on in or around the capital for over four weeks, with the armed rebels and their supporters demanding the resignation of Hadi's government, which it accuses of widespread corruption.

Political and economic instability have gripped Yemen since early 2012, when its long-time leader Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted from power. Since then, the government has struggled against an al Qaeda insurgency and a secessionist movement in the country's south.

In recent months, a Zaydi Shiite rebel group led by Abdel-Malek el-Hawthi has increased its military activity in the north of Yemen, where the Zaydi community has its stronghold.

'Coup attempt'

On Saturday, President Hadi called the rebel offensive a "coup attempt" against his government as he tried to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis.

"The right choice is through the process taking place with (UN special envoy) Jamal Benomar," Hadi was quoted as saying by the official Saba news agency. The president said the Hawthi advance into Sanaa was "inexcusable."

Earlier on Saturday, Benomar said he was trying to negotiate a ceasefire with al-Huthi in the northern rebel stronghold of Saada.

shs/ipj (AP, Reuters, AFP)