Sanaa, Dec 18 (IANS/EFE): Yemen's parliament has given a vote of confidence to the new government headed by Khaled Bahah, news reports said Thursday.

Parliamentarians late Wednesday unanimously approved the general programme of the government after three failed attempts, according to the state news agency, SABA.

The parliamentary bloc of the General People's Congress Party, headed by former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is accused of collusion with the Shia Houthis, obstructed the vote three times.

A parliamentary source told Efe news agency that the government won the vote of confidence after promising parliament that the government would demand that the UN Security Council cancel sanctions imposed last month on Saleh and two leaders of the Houthi rebels.

The vote came after Bahah threatened that his government would resign if the Houthis decided to take over the country.

Bahah, who was sworn in Nov 9, warned that territorial expansion by the Shia rebels and their control of state institutions were could "plunge the country into chaos".