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Shelling kills 3 opposition militants in north Yemen: official

03 August 2011 17:54 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least three opposition-backed armed tribesmen were killed and five others injured in shelling by Yemen’s Republican Guards in the Arhab district in northeast Sanaa on Wednesday, a local official said,APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Troops of the Republican Guards fired missiles and artillery on villages of Arhab early Wednesday, killing three opposition fighters and injuring five others, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The shelling destroyed several houses and farms, he added.

The opposition-backed tribesmen, who sided with protesters who were demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, tried last Thursday to seize the Republican Guards’ military base stationed in the area, according to officials from the government and the opposition.

The tribesmen’s attempt to occupy the powerful military base ignited fierce battles that left 40 soldiers and 35 tribesmen dead after Saleh’s troops managed to kill the infiltrators and drove away the rest of the opposition fighters.

The Defense Ministry accused the opposition of plotting to capture Sanaa International Airport and besieging the northern entrances of the capital.

Arhab, about 60 km northeast of Sanaa, has witnessed sporadic clashes between the Republican Guards and opposition armed tribesmen supported by defected army troops since late May that left dozens dead and forced hundreds of families to flee the area.