Sectarian clashes kill at least 22 in Yemen

SANAA (Reuters) - At least 22 people were killed in clashes between Shi'ite Muslim rebels and fighters from a Sunni Islamist group in a province under rebel control in rugged northern Yemen, tribal sources said on Thursday.

A source close to the Shi'ite rebels known as Houthis said fighters from a Sunni group known as the Salafi attacked the rebels overnight in Hajja and in the Kataf area of Saada province, an area that has seen intense sectarian fighting in recent months.

"We blocked the attack in under an hour and 13 people died in Hajja and nine in Kataf," said the Houthi source.

The Salafi fighters are followers of a Sunni creed akin to Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi school of Islam.

The Houthis, who draw their name from a tribal leader, had fought government forces for years until an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh last year gave them free rein in Saada province, which borders the world's number one oil-exporter Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom, a key regional U.S. ally, briefly fought the Houthis in Saada after they seized Saudi territory in 2009.

Political upheaval has severely weakened central government control over swathes of Yemen, allowing some groups to seize whole provinces including Saada.

"The whole governorate (Saada) is controlled by Houthis, we only have to deal with one party," the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC) head of operations for the Near and Middle East, Beatrice Megevand-Roggo, said in an interview.

In Yemen's south, Islamist militants have gained control over several towns in Abyan province, forcing hundreds to flee the violence and take refuge in the southern port city of Aden, which has since seen a string of targeted attacks.