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1 killed in clashes among Yemeni soldiers

02 August 2013 17:18 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least one soldier was killed and several others were injured when the Yemeni presidential forces fired at angry soldiers demanding salary payments in the capital Sanaa on Friday, APA report quoting Xinhua.

Witnesses said they heard heavy gunfire near the presidential palace in the southern part of Sanaa, few meters away from the al- Sabeen Square where the angry soldiers held their rally. They said anti-riot forces were dispatched to the area.

"The angry soldiers were former presidential guards, who had been commanded by the eldest son of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh," an official said.

"This protest is not pro- or anti- anyone. It's about our salaries, we want them to be paid," one soldier told Xinhua by phone.

Witnesses said the soldiers threatened to storm the presidential palace, while the presidential forces warned them to leave the square, otherwise they would be evacuated by force.

The former presidential guards were dismantled earlier this year by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as part of his plan to reform the army.

In April, Hadi issued decrees to end the military grip of rival forces formed in the upheaval against the ex-president in 2011. As a result, General Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, the eldest son of former President Saleh, and his relatives were removed from the army and appointed posts in Yemeni diplomatic missions abroad.

Hadi took office in February 2012 under a power transfer deal which ended the rule of Saleh following 11 months of mass protests across the country. Hadi has pledged to carry out reforms during his two-year transitional term and launch a national dialogue with all political factions.