Relatives of former Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh have been granted refuge in neighbouring Oman, following a crackdown on family and supporters of the former strongmen by Houthi rebels.

Oman News Agency reported that 22 members of Saleh's family entered Oman on Thursday evening, where they joined other family who have been living in the sultanate since the start of the war in Yemen.

"In continuation of Oman's humanitarian efforts to deal with events in Yemen - and after coordination with competent authorities in Sanaa - 22 people from the family of the late Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived in the sultanate [Thursday] evening," the state-run news agency reported on Friday.
Most of the family members were women and children who entered Oman through Yemen's al-Mahra province, Anadolu news agency reported.

The Saudi-led military coalition - which is at war with the Houthis - later claimed it helped facilitate the transfer of the family members to the sultanate.

Houthi fighters killed Saleh on 4 December with his corpse displayed in a grusome video as proof of his death.

It followed days of clashes between the Zaydi-Shia rebels and the former president's supporters in the Yemeni capital.