Dec 5, 2017

Saudi-led warplanes pounded the rebel-held Yemeni capital before dawn on Tuesday after the rebels killed former president Ali Abdullah Saleh as he fled the city following the collapse of their uneasy alliance, residents said.

The Shiite Huthi rebels moved swiftly to consolidate their control over Sanaa after nearly a week of deadly clashes with Saleh loyalists.

Exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi called on Yemenis to unite against the Iran-backed insurgents.

At least seven strikes hit the presidential palace in a densely populated residential neighbourhood in the heart of Sanaa, witnesses said.

There was immediate word on any casualties.