Pro-Saleh, tribal leader forces exchange fire in Yemen

Shelling killed five supporters of a powerful Yemeni opposition tribal chief near his home in Sana'a on Tuesday, a tribal source said, as clashes intensified between the tribesmen and security forces

 Tribesmen take positions on a street near the house tribal leader Shaikh Sadek Al Ahmar during clashes with police in Sana'a. 

Sana'a: Shelling killed five supporters of a powerful Yemeni opposition tribal chief near his home in Sana'a on Tuesday, a tribal source said, as clashes intensified between the tribesmen and security forces.
The news followed reports that fighters for a powerful Yemeni tribe sealed off key government buildings - including headquarters of the ruling party - as the revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh spilled into the heart of the capital Tuesday amid fierce clashes with government forces.
The decision by the leader of the Hashid tribe to unleash its fighters sharply boosts pressure on the embattled president and suggests Yemen could be heading toward a potentially bloody showdown between well-armed tribal militias and pro-Saleh troops.
Saleh has refused to step down despite three months of nearly nonstop street protests calling for an end to his 32-year rule.
Some military commanders have already defected to the opposition. But the move to join the battle by the Hashid, Yemen's biggest tribe, could set Yemen on a dangerous path by forcing the other clan leaders around Yemen to pick sides.
Patchwork of tribes
Yemen is a patchwork of tribes with strong militias whose support is critical for Saleh. In a bitter snub, the head of Saleh's own Hashid tribe, Shaik Sadeq Al Ahmar, backed the uprising in March but held off sending his militiamen against government forces under an accord to keep the protests unarmed.
That changed Monday after Al Ahmar accused government forces of trying to storm his home - triggering battles in the central Hassaba district, the site of many key government offices.
The clashes have killed at least six people and injured more than 40, a medical official said.
As the fighting rages, tribesman for the Hashid used locks and chains to seal off several important buildings, including the ruling party headquarters and the ministries for industry, economy and local administrations. Meanwhile, hundreds of lower-level tribal leaders held a meeting in the Hassaba district in a show of solidarity with Al Ahmar.
The escalating clashes came after Saleh refused to sign a US-backed deal, mediated by Gulf Arab neighbours, that offered immunity from prosecution under a timetable to step down within 30 days and transfer power to his vice president.
Sporadic fire
Earlier Tuesday, Yemeni loyalist forces exchanged sporadic fire  with guards of a prominent tribal leader who has sided with protesters demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster, witnesses said in Sana'a.
"Gunmen and soldiers spread out everywhere and the sound of gunfire can be heard from time to time," one of the witnesses said, following a nighttime lull in clashes that killed seven people on Monday.
Gun battles had erupted in Sana'a Monday, a day after efforts to clinch a Gulf-brokered deal to end the political crisis in the country was abandoned.
Six killed, 25 wounded
At least six people were killed and 25 wounded in the fighting, the fiercest yet between the pro- and anti-Saleh camps.
The clashes cast fresh doubt on prospects of a political solution to the three-month crisis in which demonstrators are demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule.
"There is heavy gunfire and violent clashes between government forces and Shaikh [Sadik] Al Ahmar's guards," a witness was quoted by Reuters as saying, referring to a powerful tribal leader who has sided with protesters. No injuries were reported.
Meanwhile, both the government and the opposition traded accusations of attempting to fuel the tension and foment violence.
The GCC, meanwhile, is expected to submit another "clearer initiative that is easier to implement" to end the crisis, Ahmad Al Sufi, the Yemeni president's spokesperson, told Gulf News.
Talks fail three times
Failure to sign the previous deal, which required Saleh to step down in 30 days, was the third time in a month that Gulf-led talks had failed.
But the third attempt ended in high drama. A helicopter was used to evacuate US and Arab diplomats besieged in the embassy of the UAE — the current chair of the GCC — surrounded by Saleh's supporters. Later, GCC foreign ministers abandoned efforts to broker peace.
GCC "suspends Yemen initiative", Bahrain's foreign minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa wrote on his Twitter account yesterday. "Major setback. Wisdom needed."
‘Stronger position'
The Yemeni opposition said the GCC's abandoning of the initiative was not expected, according to Sultan Al Atwani, head of the opposition Nasserist party, one among the six-member opposition alliance.
"We were expecting a stronger position, and not the suspension of efforts," Al Atwani told Gulf News, adding that suspending the efforts would lead to "a clear conflict between the [Yemeni] authorities and the people".
"The authorities, who have the power, will exert terrorism on the opposition," Al Atwani said.
Yet, the opposition leader stressed that the youth and protesters "were not dragged and will never be dragged into more violence, and will continue what they have started" — a reference to Salehs' resignation.
"The revolution will extract what is left from the regime… and will continue until it achieves its aim," Mohammad Qah'tan, the opposition spokesperson, told Gulf News.
But Saleh's spokesperson Al Sufi said he anticipates more violence in the coming days not because of the regime using power but because of "Al Qaida and the extremist elements that are flexing their muscles".
Also, the "Muslim Brotherhood leadership has signalled to their bases to foment trouble", he said. "Saleh's supporters have taken to the streets of Sana'a… and no one can move in the capital without facing road obstacles", Al Sufi added.
Counter-accusations
While the Yemeni official described the opposition position as "childish, stubborn", the opposition accused Saleh and his government of "always breaking their promises at the last moment".
Yemeni opposition agreed to the US-supported Gulf plan on Saturday in the presence of the GCC Secretary-General Abdul Latif Al Zayani and a number of western ambassadors.
Saleh was supposed to sign the deal on Sunday. However, the Yemeni government put a condition that the deal "should be signed at the presidential palace in the presence of all sides", which was rejected by the opposition who accused the president of violating a prior agreed-upon protocol.
The GCC, the opposition leaders believe, should take a firmer position against the Saleh, Al Atwani said. In response, Saudi columnist Dawood Al Shirian, said "the GCC countries have [one] clear goal: Yemen should not be engaged in violence".
US embassy shut
The US embassy in Yemen shut its consular section to the public for at least two days due to insecurity, as forces loyal to Saleh fought a gunbattle with opponents on Monday.
"Due to the fluid security situation in the city, the Consular Section is closed to the public for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 24 and May 25, 2011, and will be providing emergency American citizen services only," the embassy said in a statement.
French warning
France Monday branded Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh "irresponsible" for refusing to sign a deal to leave office, and warned of "consequences" if he continues to resist.
French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said: "By going back on his commitments, President Saleh bears responsibility for this failure and its consequences for the Yemeni people and the international community.
"If he persists in refusing to respect his commitments, France is ready to take up all the consequences with European Union and its partners."