Fighting broke out in the Sabaha suburb of Sanaa on 10 September as Houthi rebels clashed with government forces in a development that threatens to spark a continuing conflict in Yemen’s capital.

Shia Houthi rebels have been camped out in the capital for weeks as part of a campaign to put pressure on Yemen’s Sunni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Houthis accuse the president and his government of corruption, while critics of the Houthis say the Shia insurgent group is taking advantage of the president’s lack of popularity to try and carve out a semi-independent state in Yemen’s north.

In an effort to make a deal with the Houthis President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has offered to install a new prime minister and restore fuel subsidies, but the offers have been rejected by the rebels who say they want the government to quit.

The fighting in the capital on Wednesday came hours after four Houthi protesters were shot and killed outside Sanaa’s cabinet building.

Both government and rebel fighters were injured in the fighting in Sabaha and one civilian was killed.