Yemen's interior ministry declared a curfew in several areas here late Saturday, as clashes intensified between Shia Houthi rebels and the Sunni-militia-supported army.
The curfew will be imposed in northwest Sanaa where the two sides were raging fierce battles that are expanding towards the city centre. Regular explosions were heard in downtown Sanaa, Xinhua reported.
As many as 55 people, including at least ten civilians, were killed Saturday, which pushed the toll to more than 200 since the clashes broke out Tuesday, medical sources said.
Thousands of people have fled their homes to southern Sanaa and other provinces, an interior ministry official said, after the rebels took control of several areas in north Sanaa.
Thousands of families were still trapped for three days, waiting for the government to reach a ceasefire deal with the Houthi group, an official said.
The deadly clashes broke out as negotiations between the Sunni-dominated government and the Shia Houthi group ran into deadlock after the rebels walked away from talks on a solution to end the crisis Monday, saying there was "foreign intervention".
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The fighting intensified Thursday when the rebels shelled Yemen's national TV, which sparked strong counterattack from the army.
Security sources and a rebel spokesman said Friday that the Houthi rebels had taken control of the national TV station.
The Houthis have held protests since August in Sanaa, while thousands of its members took up positions near the capital to force the resignation of the Yemeni government.
The Houthis, who took up arms in 2004, control the northern province of Saada since 2010 and have been trying for months to expand the areas under their control.
The Yemeni authorities accused the Houthi group of seeking to control the capital, which the rebels have denied.
Earlier this month, Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi raised a compromise deal, including a small cut of the fuel price and calling on the Houthis to join a new cabinet, but was rejected by the Houthis.