Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Shi’ite rebels appear to have completed their seizure of the the government in Yemen.

Yemeni sources said Ansar Allah captured the palace of President Abbed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. They said the Shi’ite rebels, also called Al Houthis and trained and equipped by Teheran, defeated hundreds of troops who guarded the presidential complex in Sanaa.

Despite military and financial support, neither the United States nor its NATO allies intervened to protect Hadi.

“They now control the presidential palace and can stop anybody who wants to enter or leave,” a presidential source said.

The sources said the Shi’ite rebel seizure of the presidential palace essentially completed Ansar’s takeover of the Sanaa government. They said the Shi’ites have been controlling the government and much of the military command since September 2014.

“The Yemeni president is under attack by militiamen who want to overthrow the regime,” Information Minister Nadia Sakaf said.

The sources said the rebels were aided by loyalists of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They said Ansar was being aided by soldiers under the command of Saleh’s son, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Saleh and formally Yemen’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

“We are ready to face the consequences, regardless of what they are,” Ansar commander Abdul Malik Al Houthi said.

Ansar was expected to install its fighters in key positions in the presidential palace. The sources said Ansar was not expected to expel Hadi himself, recognized by the international community.

“The goal is to get the president to do their bidding,” the source said.

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