Dozens dead after explosion in looted weapons factory

Yemen's chaos deepened yesterday when people looting a munitions factory set off an accidental explosion that killed at least 78 in an area torn from government control by Islamist militants exploiting the president's rapidly dwindling power.

The seizure of the factory amplified Western fears that the fragile Yemeni state could deteriorate quickly because of president Ali Abdullah Saleh's stand-off with an opposition coalition of youth groups, military defectors, clerics and tribal leaders calling for his removal.

Mr Saleh has co-operated closely with the US in the battle against Yemen's branch of al-Qaeda, which has used areas of Yemen long out of state control to launch attacks, including the attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner. He has also battled regional rebellions in the north and south of the country.

State control diminished further this month as massive demonstrations developed in major cities and the government pulled police from many towns. In other areas, anti-government protesters pushed out police and soldiers and set up militias for self-defence.

The protesters blame Mr Saleh for mismanagement, repression and the fatal shootings of protesters, and say they will not relent until he goes.

"As the central government continues to erode in Yemen, something will fill the gap," said Christopher Boucek, a Yemen expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"Who will thrive in that space … is something we very much need to be worried about."

On Sunday, armed men whom residents described as religious militants seized the towns of Jaar and al-Husn, a hilltop overlooking them, and the factory that makes Kalashnikov assault rifles, ammunition and explosives used to build roads in the mountainous southern province of Abyan, where Yemen's al-Qaeda branch has been active.

Factory worker Hakim Mohammed, 28, said that the militants took two armoured cars, a tank, several pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns and ammunition.

Later, dozens of impoverished men, women and children entered the facility and looted anything of valued that remained, including cables, doors and vehicle fuel, he said.

Some emptied gunpowder barrels to use for collecting rainwater; others picked through the compound's cafeteria for forgotten bags of flour and sugar.

Residents told the Al-Jazeera television network that someone may have dropped a lit cigarette next to the remaining explosives, setting off a massive blast that could be heard ten miles away.

Twenty-seven of the wounded were in a critical condition, said hospital officials in Jaar.

The deputy governor of Abyan province, Saleh al-Samty, blamed the national government for the tragedy, saying it was because of the security pull-back and resulting disorder.

In a swathe of territory that abuts the Saudi Arabian border, a renegade official announced he was the new governor last week - apparently with the consent of residents.And in the province of Marab, al-Qaeda militants have used instability to conduct a series of drive-by shootings against Yemeni security forces. On Sunday, they killed seven soldiers in one such attack.

Talks to broker a transition of power from Mr Saleh to his opponents have stalled in a public game of brinkmanship, but sources close to the discussions say a deal is still within reach.

One opposition figure said a deal was still possible and that Mr Saleh was looking to ease conditions the opposition wanted to set on his family's future activities.

"We are on the path to completing a deal.

"The president is trying to improve the negotiating conditions, especially relating to the situation of his sons and relatives."