RIYADH (AFP) - The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Saturday condemned a "coup" in Yemen where the Shi'ite Houthi militia has dissolved parliament and installed a "presidential council" to run the country, a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda.

"The Houthi coup marks a grave and inacceptable escalation... and endangers the security, stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen," said a statement issued at GCC headquarters in Saudi Arabia.

The Sunni-dominated GCC, which also includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, had urged the Houthis to pull out of Sanaa, which the militia overran in September.