At least 16 killed as clashes shatter Yemen truce

Sep 21, 2011, 21:40 GMT

Sana'a - At least 16 people were killed Wednesday in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, in fresh clashes between troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and dissident military forces, shattering a short-lived ceasefire.

The broadcaster al Arabiya, quoting hospital sources in the Yemeni capital, said mortars fell on thousands of mourners at funerals held for protesters who were killed in the two days of violence that gripped the city.

The shelling killed 16 people and injured more than 50 others, the sources said.

They added that the headquarters of the renegade 1st Armored Division, which is headed by dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar came under heavy shelling from government forces killing seven, including two civilians, and injuring 10 others.

Al-Ahmar defected to join pro-democracy protesters in March. The Al-Ahmar office issued a statement holding government forces responsible for 'breaching the cease-fire.'

'This is an attempt to explode the situation militarily and to impose a situation that triggers confrontation,' the statement said.

There was no official response to his accusations.

According to broadcaster Al Arabiya, Saleh's forces blocked roads leading to Sana'a and barred people from entering or leaving the city following Wednesday's fighting.

At least 80 people were killed in the violence that has gripped Yemen, mainly in the capital, since Sunday, according to media reports.

The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed in a statement Wednesday concern about 'unprecedented level of violence.'

It said that at a main hospital, a team of the Yemen Red Crescent society was barred from access to treat injured people. Their equipment was confiscated.

The ceasefire was negotiated by Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and mediated by foreign envoys including the US and British ambassadors in Sana'a.

Meanwhile, the Gulf and UN mediators seemed to have lost confidence in persuading Yemen's opposition and the government to reach agreement.

Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, the GCC's general-secretary, left Yemen unexpectedly Wednesday following a meeting with the Yemeni vice president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, according to the Yemeni state agency SABA.

The United States has condemned the latest bout of violence in Yemen and called for a political solution to avoid further bloodshed.

The violence erupted Sunday after the opposition learned that Saleh had rejected a plan to hand over power. The president is currently in Saudi Arabia, recovering from injuries suffered in an attack on his palace in Sana'a in June.

Millions of Yemenis have taken to the streets since February, demanding that Saleh step down. On Wednesday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused government troops of using excessive force in shooting protesters in Sana'a on September 18.

'These latest killings by Yemeni security forces show exactly why there should be no get-out-of-jail-free card for those responsible,' said Joe Stork, the group's deputy Middle East director.