SANAA (AFP) – Security forces in the Yemeni capital battled heavily armed supporters of the country’s most powerful tribal leader on Thursday as President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the tribesman’s arrest.
The leader, Sheikh Sadiq Al Ahmar, in turn accused Saleh of dragging Yemen into civil war, speaking after hours of clashes late on Wednesday and overnight in which at least 24 people were killed.
Meanwhile, a website linked to the defence ministry said 28 more people died when an explosion ripped through an ammunition store belonging to Al Ahmar tribal opposition.
But a dissident military official whose troops are stationed in the area denied the existence of an ammunition store in that district.