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Yemen says its army forces in high readiness to defend country

12 November 2011 03:57 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Yemeni Defense Ministry on Friday said its army forces are ready to defend the country against "subversive elements of the opposition and defected army," hours after clashes in southern Taiz province which left 18 people dead, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"The Republican Guard forces are in a state of high readiness and vigilance to defend the country against subversive armed elements of the opposition coalition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) and the defected First Armored Division," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website, accusing their opponents of seeking "military coup."

The violence erupted a day after United Nation envoy to Yemen Jamal bin Omar arrived in Sanaa for the sixth visit to follow up the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2014 that called on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative to transfer power peacefully and end the 10-month-long unrest.

Medics said that the death toll from the ongoing clashes in southern province of Taiz between the government’s elite Republican Guards and pro-protesters armed tribesmen since late Thursday increased to 16 civilians, including three children, while more than 30 others were injured.

The shooting was exchanged across the residential neighborhoods and the protesters’ camp in central Taiz, as several stray mortar shells landed in the protesters’ sit-in camp when tens of thousands of them performed Friday prayers, demanding to cancel Saleh’s immunity from prosecution offered by the GCC initiative, witnesses said.

They also said that the opposition-backed armed tribesmen, who sided with 10-month-old protesters, destroyed one armored vehicle of the Republican Guards in Taiz’s district of al-Hasab.

On the other hand, at least two government soldiers were killed and seven others injured by gunshots of the opposition tribal fighters, said the Defense Ministry statement.

The spokeswoman of the opposition National Council, Houria Mash ’hour, accused Saleh of escalating violence through deteriorating security situations in major cities.

"Saleh is challenging the UN resolution and he has no intention to move ahead in power transition ... he seeks to hinder the UN efforts through igniting conflict and violence," she told Xinhua earlier.

The UN envoy bin Omar "deplored the escalating violence and the targeting of unarmed civilians in Taiz, calling an immediate halt to the violence," in remarks he made late Friday to local media.

Bin Omar, who would draft a report of the progress of implementing the resolution to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, has already met with several officials including Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qerbi and the opposition’s representatives, government officials said.

Sporadic clashes between the rival forces also reportedly took place Friday in the northern part of the capital Sanaa and southern port city of Aden. No casualties were reported.

The escalation came two days after the leaders of Saleh’s ruling party and the opposition coalition made coincident remarks that they reached a political compromise and the GCC initiative would be signed in the next few days.