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Tribal fighters take over major city in Yemen, eyewitnesses say

(CNN) — Tribal fighters took control of a top Yemeni city on Tuesday, a setback for an embattled government whose injured president is confined to a hospital in Saudi Arabia.
More than 400 tribal gunmen took over Taiz in southwest Yemen, eyewitnesses there said.
The gunmen had been clashing with Yemeni security forces near the city’s Republican Palace and eyewitnesses said they are now in control of the city. The palace is not far from the city’s Freedom Square — a focal point of anti-government protests.
Government forces have been regrouping in an effort to re-enter the city. Yemen’s government has faced international criticism for excessive Read more…
Yemen slides into civil war
Antigovernment protesters react as they block the road with rocks and burning tires during clashes with Yemeni security forces in Taiz, Yemen, on Wednesday, June 1.
After months of trying to tamp down unrest, Yemen‘s embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his security forces have become embroiled in a conflict that meets all the classic definitions of a civil war.
He and his security forces are now fighting on three main fronts: In the capital of Sanaa, Saleh loyalists are engaged in a pitched battle with tribesmen under the direction of Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, leader of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation; Islamist militants have taken control of the southern province of Abyan; and in the southern city of Taiz, Saleh’s Republican Guard violently dispersed protesters. Yemeni government forces have reportedly killed more than 50 people since Sunday.
Saleh has Read more…
Yemen crisis: Protesters keep up pressure on Saleh

Protesters occupying a permanent camp in Sanaa say they don’t trust President Ali Abdullah Saleh to keep his promise to leave office.
Mr Saleh agreed on Saturday to hand over power to his deputy within 30 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Protesters say he must go immediately.
There were fresh demonstrations in Sanaa and in other parts of the country on Sunday.
Witnesses say the protesters in Sanaa are ringed by army units that defected to join and protect them. Uniformed soldiers were seen chanting alongside the demonstrators and flashing victory signs.
At least 130 people have died during two months of protests inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world.
Despite the protesters concerns, a coalition of seven opposition parties has generally accepted the deal, brokered by the Gulf Read more…
3 dead, dozens shot in Yemen unrest
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Many protesters are angry at widespread corruption in a country where 40 per cent live on $2 a day or less [Reuters] |
Anti-government unrest continued in Yemen on Tuesday with three people reported dead in a prison riot in support of protests and dozens reported injured when police opened fire on crowds in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.
Policemen and security agents in civilian clothes opened fire as they tried to prevent people from joining thousands of protesters camped out in front of Sanaa University, witnesses told the Reuters news agency. Three of the injured were said to be in a serious condition.
Meanwhile, three prisoners at a Sanaa prison were reported killed and Read more…
Thousands rally against government in Yemen
SANAA, Yemen – Tens of thousands of people are calling for the Yemeni president’s ouster in protests across the capital inspired by the popular revolt in Tunisia.
The demonstrations led by opposition members and youth activists are a significant expansion of the unrest sparked by the Tunisian uprising, which also inspired Egypt’s largest protests in a generation. They pose a new threat to the stability of the Arab world’s most impoverished nation, which has become the focus of increased Western concern about a resurgent al-Qaida branch, a northern rebellion and a secessionist movement in the south.
Crowds in four parts of Sanaa have shut down streets and are chanting calls for an end to the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for nearly 32 years.
“We will not accept anything less than the president leaving,” said independent parliamentarian Ahmed Hashid.
Opposition leaders called for more demonstrations on Friday.
“We’ll only be happy when we hear the words ‘I understand you’ from the president,” Hashid said, invoking a statement issued by Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali before he fled the country. Read more…
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