Yemen's former President Ali Abdallah Saleh spoke on Saturday in a live TV address to slam the Houthi militia amid fierce battles between Saleh loyalists and the Iran-backed militia in the capital Sanaa.

Saleh called for a joint ceasefire to be agreed on by his loyalists and the Houthi militia, after clashes entered their fourth day and hae resulted in the deaths of at least 80 people.

"The people have revolted against Houthi aggression," he said.

Saleh urged an end to "militia rule on Yemeni land," adding that Houthis had continued their "provactive acts against Yemeni citizens."

He also demanded that armed Yemeni forces refrain from taking any orders from the Houthi militia, and called for "opening a new page with neighboring countries."

Earlier, Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party, accused the Houthis of failing to honor the truce and said in a statement on its website that the Houthis bear responsibility for dragging the country into a civil war.



It also called on supporters, including tribal fighters, to "defend themselves, their country, their revolution and their republic..."



The GPC appealed to the army and security forces to remain neutral in the conflict.



The Houthis' Ansarullah group, in a statement issued on its Twitter account, described the clashes as "regrettable."

"It is happening in coordination with it," referring to the Saudi-led coalition.



The fighting began on Wednesday when Saleh's GPC party accused the Houthis of breaking into the city's main mosque complex and firing RPGs and grenades.

(With Reuters)

Last Update: Saturday, 02 December 2017 KSA 13:04 - GMT 10:04