Algerian killed, Frenchman wounded in scuffle at Sanaa Houthi checkpoint

SANAA (Reuters) – An Algerian national was shot dead and a Frenchman was wounded on Wednesday during a scuffle at a checkpoint operated by fighters of the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi group in the southern part of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, a police source said.

The source said the incident developed when the Houthis stopped the two men for checks and then tried to arrest them, having found that they were foreigners.

One of the two men stabbed a member of the security detail at the checkpoint and other Houthi gunmen opened fire, killing the Algerian and wounding the Frenchman.

Another police source earlier told Reuters that the two men had been shot by unidentified assailants in southern Sanaa.

A member of the Muslim Salafi movement, which operates centres in Sanaa, said the pair had been students at a Salafi religious school in the northern province of Saada before it was forced to close down last year after weeks of armed confrontations with the Houthis.

He confirmed the two had scuffled with the Houthis at the Shumaila checkpoint, but made no reference to Houthis being stabbed before opening fire.

The source said the wounded man was a French national and that he believed the Algerian also held a French passport.