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UN announces deal to resolve Yemen crisis

The UN envoy to Yemen says an accord has been reached after a week of deadly fighting between Shi'ite rebels and pro-government forces.

Smokes rise from a neighbourhood near the Yemeni state TV headquarters
The UN envoy to Yemen says an accord has been reached to "resolve the current crisis". (AAP)

The UN envoy to Yemen says an accord has been reached to "resolve the current crisis" after a week of deadly fighting between Shi'ite rebels and pro-government forces.

Jamal Benomar's announcement on Saturday came hours after the government imposed a curfew in parts of the capital because of the intensity of the fighting, which has left dozens dead as the rebels demand political change.

The combat prompted both a suspension of international flights to Sanaa and an interruption of broadcasts by state television for the second straight day.

Forces allied to the government have been battling to halt the rebels, who swept into Sanaa from their mountain stronghold in the northwest weeks ago and set up protest camps to press their demands.

Benomar said in a statement that the deal came after "intense consultations with all the political parties, including (rebels) Ansarullah, to resolve the current crisis based on the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference".

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The statement said preparations were under way to sign the agreement.

Benomar said the accord will be a "national document that will advance the path of peaceful change, and will lay the foundations for national partnership and for security and stability in the country".

He said he regretted the continuing bloodshed and reiterated that the "time has now come to overcome narrow interests and that the higher national interest should prevail".

Earlier, as fighting raged, a security committee chaired by President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi decreed a curfew from 9pm to 6am in northwestern districts of Sanaa.

That followed an announcement from an airport source that the suspension of incoming and outgoing international flights was continuing for a second day.

The rebels hail from the Zaidi Shi'ite community, a minority in the mostly Sunni nation.

Also known as Huthis or Ansarullah, they have battled the government for years from their heartland of Saada.

There was fierce fighting in northern Sanaa on Saturday morning, and attacks resumed on the TV headquarters.

Presenters said the facility had come under heavy gunfire and pleaded for the authorities to send forces to their aid. They said a number of employees had been wounded and that rebels were preventing medics from evacuating them.

Witnesses said part of the building was on fire.

Meanwhile, medics also said three civilians were killed in a bombardment of the main road in the area.

And a hospital was hit by shellfire that killed one person and wounded three, a hospital worker said.

Hadi has already agreed to involve the rebels in the formation of a new government to replace the unpopular administration that imposed austerity measures, including a fuel price hike, earlier this year.

But the rebels are also demanding posts in key state institutions as part of a push for greater political clout.


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