Shiite rebels in Yemen seized control of a palace used by the president and got into battles with his guards outside his residents.  It’s raising fears of an imminent coup in a notoriously unstable and impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula.

President Abdu Rabbuh Mansour Hadi was reported to be inside the house but an official insisted he was safe.  Several people were reported killed at the battle of the palace. 

The leader of the Shiite Houthi rebels Abdel Malik al-Houthi went on television to claim that his fighters were not necessarily trying to depose Hadi, but to accelerate the political changes they have demanded – which includes sharing power in a new government.  A statement adopted by all 15 members of the UN Security Council said President Hadi was “the legitimate authority”.

Yemen is beset with compounding crises.  The armed conflict with the Houthi has spread to the capital Sanaa.  The Houthi are opposed to the other major insurgent group, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which is a radical Sunni movement and has been linked to the terrorist attacks in Paris.  Although they are rivals, both groups are vehemently anti-American and anti-Israel, and oppose the government – which has cooperated with United States drone strikes against Qaeda leaders and their subordinates.