Yemen crisis nears civil war as ten die in Sanaa

Raging battles between heavily armed loyalists and foes of Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh killed ten people in the capital, Sanaa, yesterday as a crisis over a state crackdown on unrest drifted towards civil war.

Gunfire appeared to have stopped in the afternoon but both the opposition and the government vowed to defend themselves in a divided city.

At least 66 people have been killed since Sunday when frustration boiled over at Mr Saleh’s refusal to accept a mediated plan to transfer power after he was seriously wounded by a suicide bomber in June.

The eight-month-old revolt against his rule has become increasingly violent, as loyalist forces fight it out with opposition troops and tribes.

One western diplomat said peace negotiators were seeking to salvage the deal.

“All the evidence is that we are continuing with Yemeni politics and conflict as usual. They will sit down and talk, but without a deal, it will kick off again in the future,” the diplomat warned.

Government officials and opposition groups have traded accusations over who was responsible for the violence of the past few days of which activists at Change Square, who number in the thousands, were the main victims.

But a consensus was emerging on all sides that government forces clashed with those of defected General Ali Mohsen, who has pledged to defend the activists, after his men took control of territory previously under government control.

The opposition said Gen Mohsen’s troops took the area to fend off security forces they believed would enter the protest camp.