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Yemeni interior ministry accuses opposition of breaching ceasefire: statement

10 November 2011 02:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Yemeni Interior Ministry on Wednesday accused militants of the powerful opposition leader Sadiq al-Ahmar of breaching a ceasefire deal by opening fire on government security forces earlier the day, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"The armed tribesmen of the opposition leader Sadiq al-Ahmar breached the Saudi-brokered truce by opening fire on the ministry’ s security patrols earlier Wednesday in Hassaba district in downtown Sanaa," the ministry said in a statement.

"Al-Ahmar also broke the ceasefire deal after he deployed more rebels to station near and around the headquarters of the ministry, as well as expanding their illegal activities in new neighborhoods of the districts of Hassaba and Soufan with establishing more checkpoints and sand and cement barricades," it added.

There were no immediate comments by the office of Sadiq al- Ahmar, the tribal chieftain of the powerful Hashid tribes.

Al-Ahmar and his tribal fighters joint in May the protests calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year rule.

On May 23, al-Ahmar launched weeks-long fierce attacks against government troops and facilities in Hassaba, a day after Saleh refused for the third time to sign a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative for moving power to his deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The battles, which left more than 300 people dead and many others injured, ended with a fragile truce brokered by the government of Saudi Arabia in early June.

Residents said sporadic shootings between the rival forces were still heard into late Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, a two-hour-long gunfight flared between the rival forces in Hassaba, with no one killed or injured, according to officials affiliated with both forces.

The fresh violence came a day after leaders of the ruling party and the opposition coalition made coincident remarks that the GCC deal for transferring power peacefully from Saleh was expected to be signed in the next few days.