Over 50 killed as clashes between Yemeni security forces and tribal rebels continue

Over 50 killed as clashes between Yemeni security forces and tribal rebels continue

2011-05-25 01:32:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANAA, YEMEN (BNO NEWS) -- At least 40 tribesmen and 15 policemen were killed on Tuesday as clashes continue in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a, the Yemen Post reported.

Loyalists of Yemeni opposition leader Sadiq Al-Ahmer continued their attacks on government buildings and fired rocket- propelled grenades against the Interior Ministry. According to informed sources, smoke was bellowing from the Interior Ministry, the Yemeni Airways Head Office and the house of Al-Ahmer, as security forces continue to shell the residential compound.

According to witnesses, approximately 100 armed gunmen and security forces on Monday attacked the residence of the powerful Hashid tribe leader, but Ahmar tribesmen responded the fire. The gunfight expanded to other buildings in the Yemeni capital city, including the state-run Saba news agency building and the Interior Ministry.

"The loyalists of Sadiq Al-Ahmer besieged government buildings including the official news agency Saba, the Trade and Industry Ministry and others and tried to control them but the police resisted all attacks," the Ministry said on Monday.

Almost 20 people, including 14 policemen, were killed and more than 38, mostly policemen, were injured in the deadly clashes.

The attack was severely condemned by the organizing committee for the youth revolution and the opposition Joint Meeting Parties. Al-Ahmer issued a "Tribal Call" which summons every tribesman to join him in defending his honor, as attacking one's house is a great dishonor in tribal law.

The Hashid tribe recently joined the opposition groups behind the anti-government protests in Yemen. Current President Ali Abdullah Saleh belongs to the Hashid, Yemen's largest tribe, but Al-Ahmer supported the opposition instead.

The clashes came hours after Saleh threatened with civil war after refusing, for the third time, to sign a power transfer deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) last Sunday. Al-Ahmer commented on Saleh's speech on Sunday saying "if Saleh was seeking civil war, we are ready for anything".

The opposition signed the deal on Saturday to end the country's political crisis but Saleh told visiting GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif Al-Zayani his refusal to the transition deal. The GCC-proposed plan included guarantees that Saleh will not be prosecuted after his resignation within 30 days from the acceptance date. It also called for holding presidential elections within two months from the date of Saleh's departure as well as the establishment of a new government within 90 days.

Saleh previously said he would sign the GCC deal last Sunday but abruptly changed his mind and blamed opposition groups for the country's violence. He added that Joint Meeting Parties was responsible for the killing of at least 154 soldiers, who he labeled as "martyrs of the country."

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