More than 2 1/2 years after long-time ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced out of office by mass protests, Yemen has returned to the headlines with serious clashes, the takeover of Government buildings by insurgents, and a UN-brokered peace deal on Sunday.

Tensions escalated when the Houthi faction, a Shia group which has pursued an uprising in northern Yemen, took over the Government headquarters and miltary site in the capital Sana’a early Sunday.

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The crisis accelerated when Prime Minister Mohammad Basindawa resigned, accusing President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi of being “autocratic”.

However, United Nations envoy Jamal Benomar worked with political factions, including the Houthis, throughout the day for a halt to fighting. Last night, State news agency SABA declared, “A national peace and partnership agreement based on the outcomes of the national dialogue conference was signed this evening at the Presidential Palace.”

Hadi assured, “We have reached a final deal with which we can overcome this crisis.”

Under the deal, Hadi will oversee the formation of a government of technocrats within one month. Advisers from the Houthi movement and southern separatists will be appointed within three days.

Before the talks for a ceasefire, the insurgents also took over State radio, the general command of the armed forces, headquarters of key military units, the Central Bank, the Civil Aviation Authority, and the Parliament building.

Interior Minister Abdo al-Tarib urged “cooperation” with the insurgents “to strengthen security and stability, preserve public property, and guard government installations…and to consider Ansarullah [the Houthis] friends of the police.”

Pressure by the Houthis had been building since last month when they moved from the north and set up armed protest camps in Sana’a.

On Friday, Hadi denounced the offensive as a “coup attempt”.

(Featured Photo: Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters)