Twenty-two people were killed in fighting between Houthi fighters and armed tribesmen in northern Yemen on Monday and Tuesday.

Twenty-two people were killed in fighting between Houthi fighters and armed tribesmen in northern Yemen on Monday and Tuesday, tribal and local sources told Reuters.

The fighting in al-Jawf province, northeast of the capital Sanaa, followed weeks of peaceful anti-government demonstrations by Houthi activists in Sanaa demanding social reform.

The Houthi protesters stress they are taking a stand against government corruption in the poor southern Arabian country.

On Monday, the Houthis said that they had suspended their participation in negotiations with the Yemeni government about a solution to their grievances because of what they termed "foreign interventions" in the course of the discussions.