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Yemen Government, Opposition Forces Clash

   VOA News  May 25, 2011
   Anti-government protesters hold their hands together during a rally to
   demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sana'a,
   May 24, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   Anti-government protesters hold their hands together during a rally to
   demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sana'a,
   May 24, 2011

   Fresh clashes have erupted in Yemen between government security forces
   and loyalists to a powerful tribal chief.
   Witnesses reported hearing gunfire in the capital, Sana'a, on
   Wednesday, a day after fighting between the two sides left 38 people
   dead.
   Reuters news quotes President Ali Abdullah Saleh as saying he will not
   be dragged into civil war, in spite of the clashes with Hashid tribal
   chief Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar.
   On Tuesday, forces loyal to al-Ahmar took control of several buildings
   in Sana'a while President Saleh's forces fired mortars at the
   opposition chief's house.
   Medical officials said 24 tribal loyalists were killed in Tuesday's
   unrest. Government officials reported the deaths of 14 soldiers.
   The tribal chief's decision to engage his supporters in fighting
   against government forces marks an escalation in the nearly
   four-month-old anti-government uprising in Yemen.
   On Tuesday, the Gulf Cooperation Council called for an immediate end to
   the fighting between security forces and tribesmen. The six-nation bloc
   had brokered a deal under which Saleh would resign and hand over power
   to a deputy. However on Sunday, the group suspended its efforts to
   mediate Yemen's crisis after Saleh refused to sign the deal for a third
   time.

   Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.

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References

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