SA'ADA, Yemen, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Pro-Shiite militants raided a town in northern Yemen Sunday, killing at least 24 Sunni Muslims the same day the country got a new interim prime minister.
Witnesse said Houthi Shiite militants also injured at least 61 people in the Sunni town of Sa'ada in an attack that mostly focused on the town's religious center, CNN reported. Witnesses said homes were hit with grenades and the injured could not receive medical attention because of the siege.
The Yemen Post reported Vice President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi named senior opposition leader Mohammed Basindwa to the prime minister's post on an interim basis. Basindwa is to put together a national reconciliation government ahead of elections set for Feb. 21, the newspaper said.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed this past week to transfer his powers to Hadi and step down under a deal aimed at ending months of protests against his rule. The pro-Shiite movement had increased in Yemen during the protests.
Saleh has offered amnesty to those who "committed errors during the crisis," the Post said. The offer did not cover those involved in crimes or those who tried to assassinate him in June, the newspaper said.
Opposition spokeswoman Hurriya Mashhud rejected the amnesty offer, contending it went against the agreement Saleh signed.
Sectarian violence across northern Yemen is at a peak where Houthi militants have control in five provinces, CNN said.
"The movement has more than 100,000 fighters ready to obey commands from their spiritual leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi," Ahmed Bahri, an expert in Houthi affairs, told CNN. "This movement is well organized and only has one head."
