Yemen’s Supreme Security Commission imposed an overnight curfew in restive areas of the capital Sana’a at the weekend after Shi’ite rebels took over the state television building.

The commission said that the curfew was being imposed in the north and west of the capital and would remain in place indefinitely.

It followed days of clashes between Shi’ite rebels known as Houthis and Sunni militia affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood’s Islah party that have left more than 140 dead and caused thousands to flee.

The fighting has raised fears of an all-out sectarian conflict in a country already grappling with a powerful local al-Qaida affiliate and an increasingly assertive separatist movement in the south.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam said that his group had taken over the TV building after a heavy exchange of gunfire with troops guarding the building.

All three state TV networks went off the air as clashes continued yesterday.