Shia Houthis capture Yemen’s western province

Ansarullah fighters have captured al-Mahwait province in the west of the country, Yemeni media say.
Reports said on Wednesday that the fighters, also known as Houthis, met with the provincial officials and agreed that Ansarullah representatives be instated in all governmental offices.The fighters have already taken some other parts of the Arab world’s poorest country and have also clashed with al-Qaeda militants.Yemen has been facing threats from al-Qaeda-linked militants and a separatist movement in the country’s southern region.

Yemen’s Shia Houthi movement draws its name from the tribe of its founding leader Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi.The Houthi movement played a key role in the popular revolution that forced former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.Saleh, who ruled Yemen for 33 years, stepped down in February 2012 under a US-backed power transfer deal in return for immunity, after a year of mass street demonstrations demanding his ouster.