Yemen truce broken by heavy shelling in Sana’a

Residents flee as fighting resumes in capital, ending three-day ceasefire called by President Saleh on his return last week Heavy clashes have rocked northern neighbourhoods of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, , breaking a truce aimed at ending the worst violence since a popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh began eight months ago. A Reuters reporter at the scene said three areas in the north of the city had been hit by heavy shelling and there were exchanges of gunfire between government troops and armed followers of a powerful tribal leader, Sadeq al-Ahmar, who supports the opposition. Many residents fled their homes on Thursday morning as the fighting intensified, shattering three days of calm in the capital after Saleh ordered a ceasefire upon his surprise return to Yemen last week. The truce had followed more than a week of fighting when over 100 people died, raising fears the country could be dragged closer to civil war. Saleh had been recuperating in Riyadh for three months after a bomb attack in June and had been pressured by western diplomats to stay in Saudi Arabia while they struggled to push through a long-stalled power transition plan. The president has faced the biggest challenge to his 33-year rule in mass protests across the country demanding his overthrow. Powerful figures once close to Saleh have supported the protests, particularly Ahmar and General Ali Mohsen, who defected to the opposition in March. Sana’a is now carved up into areas controlled by government troops and pro-opposition forces. Ahmar’s men battled state security forces and troops from the elite republican guard, which is led by Saleh’s son. During the lull politicians and diplomats had scrambled to revive talks over a plan brokered by Gulf Arab states under which Saleh would stand down. Yemen Arab and Middle East unrest Middle East guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 28, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.