Rebels capture Yemen presidential palace, shell residence

Fragile efforts to bring stability to one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the Arab world appeared to be nearing collapse in Yemen on Tuesday as rebels attacked the embattled president's residence and swept into the presidential palace.

The U.S.-backed government in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa was in delicate negotiation with Shiite Houthi rebels when violence erupted.

President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was inside the residence as it came under "heavy shelling" for a half-hour, but he was unharmed and protected by guards, according to Information Minister Nadia al-Sakkaf.

At the same time, rebels took control of the presidential palace in Sanaa and were staging a coup, said Army commander Col. Saleh al-Jamalani, who leads the Presidential Protection Force.

"This is a coup. There is no other word to describe what is happening but a coup," al-Jamalani said, adding the rebels were likely aided by insiders.

The U.N. Security Council met Tuesday and condemned the violence, calling for a cease-fire and the resumption of talks while also underlining that Hadi "is the legitimate authority" of Yemen.

In Washington, the State Department said it is closely monitoring events in Sanaa, but no decision has been made on whether to close or evacuate the U.S. Embassy there.

The rebel leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi warned of a further escalation if Hadi stands in the way of political reform. In a lengthy speech aired by the group's TV network, he said "all options are open" and that escalation "has no ceiling" if the president does not "speed up" implementation of a U.N.-brokered peace deal. That deal would grant the rebels greater power and shake up a committee tasked with drafting a new constitution.

Presidential guards surrendered the residence after being assured that Hadi could safely evacuate, Bloomberg News reported. Al Arabiya News said two guards were killed in the assault.

CNN reported shots were fired at a U.S. Embassy vehicle carrying diplomatic personnel Tuesday in Sanaa, but no one was apparently hurt.

"Clearly the situation has deteriorated very significantly over the last 48 hours" said Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant.

Hadi had been in negotiation with Houthi rebels for a cease-fire that ended deadly street fighting Monday. The rebels had set up checkpoints in the capital and taken control of the state media Monday.

Government forces and Houthi rebels traded accusations over who started Monday's violence, which left nine dead and 67 wounded. The Houthis took control of the capital in September after storming in from the north of Yemen.

The destabilization threatens U.S. efforts to work with Hadi in targeting the radical Sunni al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group that controls a portion of the country. It is among the most dangerous of al-Qaeda affiliates. The group claimed it ordered the Jan. 7 attack by two French brothers on the Paris offices of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, targeted for printing cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. Twelve were killed in that attack.

The negotiations that had been underway in Yemen before Tuesday's assault were over membership of a 85-member coalition that would draft a new constitution for the country. Cabinet spokesman Rageh Badi characterized the talks as crucial for the nation's future. "Today, we are at a crossroads, either to be or not to be," he said.

Reforming the commission has been long overdue and was part of a U.N.-brokered peace deal following the Houthis' movement into Sanaa last year. But the Houthis accuse Hadi of violating that deal by calling in the current members of the commission to a meeting days ago, prompting the rebels to retaliate and abduct his top aide, Ahmed bin Mubarak, setting the wheels in motion for Monday's spasm of violence.

Meanwhile, suspected al-Qaeda militants tried to assassinate a top army commander in the southern Hadramawt province Tuesday, killing five of his guards in the attack, military officials said. The militants set off explosives, hurling them at the commander's convoy, then opened gunfire, but the commander managed to escape unharmed, the officials said. The officials spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Contributing: The Associated Press