Asia

Home page

Asia

5 tribesmen killed in clashes with gov’t forces in Yemen: official

21 July 2011 02:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least five anti-government armed tribesmen were killed Wednesday in clashes with troops of Yemeni Republican Guards in the Arhab district in northern Sanaa province, a military official said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"Forces of the 63rd Brigade of the Republican Guards confronted an attack by opposition-backed armed tribesmen, who apparently attempted to storm the brigade’s military base, killing five of those tribal attackers and injuring four others," the official told Xinhua, requesting not to be identified.

Local residents said warplanes of the government forces struck some of their houses in Arhab earlier Wednesday, as the ground clashes were still going on between the government troops and the armed tribesmen who were in support of the six-month-long protests demanding an immediate end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33- year rule.

Arhab, about 60 km north of the capital Sanaa, has witnessed sporadic clashes between troops of the Republican Guards stationed in the district and opposition-backed armed tribesmen since late May. The clashes have left dozens of the two sides dead and forced hundreds of families to flee the area.

Earlier this month, the Interior Ministry issued a wanted list of 59 members of the opposition coalition in Arhab, accusing them of launching attacks against the Republican Guards’ base, according to the state-run Saba news agency.

The ministry announced an award of 3 million rials (about 14, 100 U.S. dollars) for people who provide information leading to the arrest of any one on the list.