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Former President of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh has been confirmed killed by Houthi rebels in a move that is widely expected to have an effect on the ongoing war.

Yemen is currently the poorest Arab nation worldwide and the ongoing war which has devastated much of its resources has done little to help matters.

In a statement read out on a Houthi television network, the interior ministry announced the "killing" of "Saleh and his supporters".

"This is after he and his men blockaded the roads and killed civilians in a clear collaboration with the enemy countries of the coalition," the statement said.

The ministry also said its forces had "taken over all the positions and strongholds of the treacherous militia in the capital, Sanna, and the surrounding areas, as well as other provinces in order to impose security".

Earlier on Monday, a Sanaa-based activist told Journalists that the Houthis had gained control of the majority of Sanaa from Saleh's forces.

"Only small pockets remain," Hussain Albukhaiti, who has close ties to the Iranian-backed Houthis, added.

Albukhaiti said that fighters had secured key areas south of the capital, including the "very strategic" Al-Mesbahi residential area, which is approximately 200 metres from Saleh's home.

"The area around his home is completely surrounded and may be taken over by the Houthis within the next few hours," he said.