Yemeni President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi met Sunday with his advisors and representavives of political forces, including Ansarullah rebels who had hours before seized the Yemeni government headquarters, reported state news agency Saba.

AFP reported that Shiite rebels seized the Yemeni government headquarters Sunday and the premier resigned as violence raged despite a UN announcement of a power-sharing deal to end days of fighting.

Prime Minister Mohamed Basindawa stepped aside, accusing President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi of being "autocratic", senior officials said.

Mohammed Abdulsalam, spokesman for the Ansarullah rebels, also known as Huthis, confirmed on his Facebook page that the seat of government had been taken.

Earlier, shelling and gunfire in the north of Sanaa was heard across the city, as Sunni militiamen and troops battled the rebels, prompting an exodus of terrified residents, an AFP correspondent reported.