Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Four missiles struck a compound where generals who defected from the Yemeni regime were meeting, a spokesman for the defected generals said Wednesday.
The spokesman, Askar Zuail, said there were no injuries or deaths as a result of the Tuesday night assault, which he believes was committed by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.
But government spokesman Abdu Ganady denied the report to Al Jazeera on Tuesday. A senior defense ministry official who did not want to be named for security reasons also denied the claim to CNN.
The defected generals are now running the largest military base in Sanaa. But despite such cracks in Saleh regime, the deadly unrest rages on.
Fierce clashes erupted between government security forces and Hashed tribesmen Wednesday in front of the Ministry of Local Administration in Sanna, eyewitnesses and residents said.
The Hashed tribe has opposed government forces in intermittent fighting for more than a month.
Fifteen tribesmen have died and 31 have been injured from clashes in the past two days, said Abdul Qawi Qaisi, spokesman for the head of Hashed tribe.
Witnesses also reported seeing at least three houses on fire near where the clashes were taking place Wednesday.
On Tuesday, bloody clashes between Yemeni security forces and tribal groups left at least five tribesmen dead while a leading tribe seized more government buildings in Sanaa, according to a spokesman for the leader of the powerful Hashed faction.
In the southern city of Taiz, a center of protests against Saleh, three people were killed and at least 26 were injured by gunfire on Tuesday, said Yasser Nomeree, a hospital staffer, and Bushra Maktari, a youth leader. The Organizing Committee of the Youth Revolution said Republican Guards shot at demonstrators in downtown Taiz.
In a written statement Tuesday, the United Nations said at least 100 people have been arrested in Taiz, while hundreds more have been injured across the country in recent fighting, according to a U.N. statement Tuesday.
"Saleh does not want peace," said the spokesman for the head of the Hashed tribe. "Saleh thrives with blood being spilt. They attacked us and we had to defend."
Government spokesman Tarek Shami said mediation efforts meant to stem the rash of recent violence between the country's tribal groups and Saleh's government ended Saturday without a peace accord because Hashed tribesmen would not negotiate.
"They occupy ministries and police stations. They walk armed in the streets of Sanaa. They spread fear amongst the people," Shami said. "The tribes are attacking homes of civilians, that is why the cease-fire cannot continue."
The Hashed tribe, which includes the al-Ahmar family, rose up against Saleh this month after the longtime leader backed out of a regionally brokered deal meant to ease him out of office and end months of demonstrations.
Catherine Ashton, foreign policy chief of the European Union, denounced the attacks in Taiz.
"I am shocked and condemn in the strongest terms the use of force and live ammunition against peaceful protesters in the city of Taiz," Ashton said in a statement Tuesday. "The continued repression by the Yemeni regime and grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law cannot be accepted."
The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa has condemned what it called the "unprovoked and unjustified attack" on demonstrators in Taiz. It praised the protesters and called on Saleh "to move immediately on his commitment to transfer power."
The recent fighting has raised fears of a full-blown civil war in Yemen, an impoverished, arid and mountainous nation that has been a key U.S. ally in the battle against the al Qaeda terrorist network.
The spokesman, Askar Zuail, said there were no injuries or deaths as a result of the Tuesday night assault, which he believes was committed by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.
But government spokesman Abdu Ganady denied the report to Al Jazeera on Tuesday. A senior defense ministry official who did not want to be named for security reasons also denied the claim to CNN.
The defected generals are now running the largest military base in Sanaa. But despite such cracks in Saleh regime, the deadly unrest rages on.
Fierce clashes erupted between government security forces and Hashed tribesmen Wednesday in front of the Ministry of Local Administration in Sanna, eyewitnesses and residents said.
The Hashed tribe has opposed government forces in intermittent fighting for more than a month.
Fifteen tribesmen have died and 31 have been injured from clashes in the past two days, said Abdul Qawi Qaisi, spokesman for the head of Hashed tribe.
Witnesses also reported seeing at least three houses on fire near where the clashes were taking place Wednesday.
On Tuesday, bloody clashes between Yemeni security forces and tribal groups left at least five tribesmen dead while a leading tribe seized more government buildings in Sanaa, according to a spokesman for the leader of the powerful Hashed faction.
In the southern city of Taiz, a center of protests against Saleh, three people were killed and at least 26 were injured by gunfire on Tuesday, said Yasser Nomeree, a hospital staffer, and Bushra Maktari, a youth leader. The Organizing Committee of the Youth Revolution said Republican Guards shot at demonstrators in downtown Taiz.
In a written statement Tuesday, the United Nations said at least 100 people have been arrested in Taiz, while hundreds more have been injured across the country in recent fighting, according to a U.N. statement Tuesday.
"Saleh does not want peace," said the spokesman for the head of the Hashed tribe. "Saleh thrives with blood being spilt. They attacked us and we had to defend."
Government spokesman Tarek Shami said mediation efforts meant to stem the rash of recent violence between the country's tribal groups and Saleh's government ended Saturday without a peace accord because Hashed tribesmen would not negotiate.
"They occupy ministries and police stations. They walk armed in the streets of Sanaa. They spread fear amongst the people," Shami said. "The tribes are attacking homes of civilians, that is why the cease-fire cannot continue."
The Hashed tribe, which includes the al-Ahmar family, rose up against Saleh this month after the longtime leader backed out of a regionally brokered deal meant to ease him out of office and end months of demonstrations.
Catherine Ashton, foreign policy chief of the European Union, denounced the attacks in Taiz.
"I am shocked and condemn in the strongest terms the use of force and live ammunition against peaceful protesters in the city of Taiz," Ashton said in a statement Tuesday. "The continued repression by the Yemeni regime and grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law cannot be accepted."
The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa has condemned what it called the "unprovoked and unjustified attack" on demonstrators in Taiz. It praised the protesters and called on Saleh "to move immediately on his commitment to transfer power."
The recent fighting has raised fears of a full-blown civil war in Yemen, an impoverished, arid and mountainous nation that has been a key U.S. ally in the battle against the al Qaeda terrorist network.
No comments:
Post a Comment