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Tribesmen, army clash in Yemeni capital
[Dawn] Fighters loyal to tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, who heads a coalition backing anti-regime protests, clashed with army troops in the Yemeni capital on Friday, witnesses said.Loud kabooms and gunfire rocked the Al-Hassaba district of Sanaa. Witnesses said an armoured vehicle of the elite Republican Guard, which is led by President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... 's son, Ahmed, was hit by a projectile and set ablaze. There were no immediate casualty figures available. The troops earlier blocked several roads and erected checkpoints, triggering a similar action by the rustics armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. Fierce festivities between Ahmar's rustics and loyal troops in Al-Hassaba in May killed more than 140 people before the two sides agreed a truce. The sheikh heads the powerful Hashid tribe which ended its support to Saleh -- also a member of Hashid -- in March and joined the protests which erupted in January demanding the ouster of the president. Influential tribal leaders formed last week a coalition headed by Ahmar to bolster the uprising against Saleh who has been in a Saudi hospital since June after being maimed in a kaboom on his Sanaa compound. Tribes wield much influence in impoverished Yemen, where the Hashid is a heavily armed tribal confederation capable of rallying and financing thousands of fighters. The Bakil is the other main tribal confederation. Posted by: Fred 2011-08-07 |
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