SANAA
Houthi militants on Wednesday looted arms and equipment from a Coast Guard camp in Yemen's western city of Al-Hudaydah.
The Houthis entered the camp and looted its contents following bloody clashes with troops guarding it, a local official said.
The source, who requested anonymity, added that a soldier had been killed and two others wounded during the clashes.
He said three Houthi militants had also been wounded.
"The Houthis managed to enter the camp and steal light weapons and other equipment from the depots," the source said.
The camp was affiliated with Yemen's Coast Guard, a branch of the country's armed forces. The camp was responsible for guarding Yemen's western Red Sea coast.
AA could not obtain comment from Yemeni authorities on the clashes.
Tension has mounted in Yemen since the Shiite Houthi group seized control of capital Sanaa last September, from which it has sought to extend its influence to other parts of the country.
Last week, President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi fled Sanaa – where he had been placed under house arrest by Houthis – to the southern city of Aden.
Upon his arrival in Aden, Hadi declared he was still Yemen's "legitimate" leader, adding that all Houthi decrees issued since September were "null" and "illegitimate."
Since his arrival, Hadi has met with a number of senior officials from Yemen's southern region in hopes of reinstating his embattled presidency from Aden.
The Houthi group, for its part, has vowed to prosecute government officials loyal to Hadi, whom the Shiite group considers "illegitimate."
On Feb. 6, the Houthis issued a "constitutional declaration" dissolving parliament and establishing a 551-member transitional council.
The declaration, however, was rejected by most of Yemen's political forces – along with some neighboring Gulf countries – which described it as a "coup against constitutional legitimacy."
