Coup in Yemen underway, Shia rebels enter presidential palace

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was inside the residence as it came under “heavy shelling” for half an hour but he was unharmed and protected by guards, officials said. In New York, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting over the chaos in Sanaa.

The shelling was a dramatic development that put the US-backed Hadi into a precarious position and represented the starkest challenge to his authority since the Houthis swept into Sanaa from their northern stronghold and seized the capital in September.

Information Minister Nadia al-Sakkaf posted on her Twitter account that the shelling started at 3 pm local time “by armed forces positioned over rooftops facing” the president’s house.

At the same time, Houthi rebels also raided the president’s offices, sweeping into the presidential palace and looting grounds’ arms depots, according to Col. Saleh al-Jamalani, commander of the Presidential Protection Force.

“This is a coup. There is no other word to describe what is happening but a coup,” al-Jamalani told Associated Press, adding that the rebels were likely aided by insiders.

In a starkly different narrative, the Houthis’ TV network al-Masseria claimed the rebels intercepted and foiled attempts by an unspecified group to loot weapons from the presidential palace.

The escalation shattered a tense ceasefire that had held overnight and throughout the morning, following Monday’s heavy clashes that engulfed the city, leaving ordinary Yemenis stunned and fearing for their country.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the “deteriorating situation” in Yemen and urged all sides to cease hostilities.

Also earlier Tuesday, Houthi fighters roamed the streets on foot and in pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns, manned checkpoints across Sanaa and near the prime minister’s residence, and beefed up their presence around other key building, including the intelligence headquarters.