SANAA: Military positions separating YemenÂ’s warring forces in central Sanaa were dismantled on Wednesday in a show of faith by both sides that they want to halt nearly a year of fighting to topple the president.Bulldozers crashed through the walls of sandbags fortifying the fightersÂ’ positions on a main street in Hasaba, a flashpoint area where tribal leader Sadeq Al-AhmarÂ’s compound is located and the site of fighting between his and outgoing President Ali Abdullah SalehÂ’s forces, including units led by SalehÂ’s son.
However, underscoring how volatile the country remains, one person was killed and three wounded when gunmen loyal to a pro-Saleh security chief based in the suburbs of Sanaa opened fire on a group of that chiefÂ’s subordinates, who had revolted against him and demanded he be sacked, a security source said.
Separating the countryÂ’s many warring forces is central to a plan brokered by YemenÂ’s wealthier neighbors to ease Saleh from power and avoid civil war they fear could give Al-Qaeda a foothold in Yemen. The military committee overseeing the disengagement works with a transitional government, split between SalehÂ’s party and opposition forces, that is to lead Yemen to elections in February to choose a successor to Saleh.
Witnesses said fighters loyal to Al-Ahmar, still bearing grenade launchers and rifles, watched as a large checkpoint they ran near an office of SalehÂ’s political party was demolished.
“We are committed to the Gulf initiative and ... will work to remove all of the obstacles facing the military committee and to follow its guidelines,” said Hashem Al-Ahmar, a military and tribal leader in the powerful Hashed tribal confederation. The Al-Ahmar clan threw its weight behind protesters early in the uprising against Saleh.