Yemen: Saleh wounded as tribal foes hit palace in rocket attack

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was wounded when opposition tribesmen determined to topple him hammered his palace with rockets yesterday in a major escalation of nearly two weeks of fighting with government forces.

At least six guards were killed and eight senior officials were also wounded.

President Saleh suffered slight injuries to the neck, and state TV said he was "in good health" and would speak to the public within hours.

But the extent of the embattled president's injuries was not clear. After initially saying he was treated at the palace, officials later said he was moved to a defence ministry hospital. Also, his planned public appearance was postponed "because of scratches on his face," deputy information minister Abdu al-Janadi said.

"There is nothing affecting the president's health," al-Janadi said, adding that Mr Saleh would appear "as soon as possible, once he is treated".

It was the first time that tribal fighters have directly targeted the presidential palace in fighting that has rocked the capital since 23 May. Sanaa residents have been hiding in basements as the two sides slug it out with artillery and gunbattles, shaking neighbourhoods and sending palls of smoke over the city.

Earlier yesterday, intense government shelling flattened the homes of two tribal leaders and a military general who joined the opposition.

Protesters have been trying since February to remove Mr Saleh - in power for 33 years - with a wave of peaceful protests that has brought out hundreds of thousands daily in Sanaa and other cities.

But now the crisis has escalated into a fight for power between two of Yemen's most powerful families: that of Mr Saleh and the al-Ahmar family, who lead Yemen's most powerful tribal confederation, the Hashid.

Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, head of the Hashid, announced his backing for the protest movement in March, but it was only when Mr Saleh's troops moved against Mr al-Ahmar's residence in Sanaa last week that Hashid fighters retaliated.

Yesterday, a volley of at least three rockets hit in and around the presidential compound. One struck a mosque in the compound where the president and senior officials were praying. State TV said three guards were killed, but a medical official at a nearby hospital said six guards died.The blast wounded many in the top echelons of the Saleh government, including the prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, the heads of the two houses of parliament and the governor of Sanaa, as well as the mosque's preacher.

The most serious injuries were suffered by Sanaa's governor, Nooman Dweid, and deputy prime minister Rashad al-Alimi, the president's top security adviser, who remained unconscious from his wounds, said officials. More than 160 people have been killed in the Sanaa fighting since it began.

Through the night, shelling and gunbattles raged in Hassaba, the northern neighbourhood where Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar's residence is located and where the battle has been concentrated. Tribesmen have taken over more than a dozen ministries and government buildings in and around Hassaba, artillery has demolished homes, and buildings have been set on fire.

Yesterday morning, troops expanded their shelling to the southern Hadda district of the capital, pounding the homes of two of Sheik al-Ahmar's brothers, Hameed and Himyar.

They also targeted the home of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the commander of the powerful 1st Armoured Division who has joined the opposition. He is not related to Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar.

Mr Saleh has agreed three times to sign a Gulf Arab-mediated agreement to leave power in 30 days, but each time he backed out at the last minute.

The mediator of the deal, Abdul-Latif al-Zayani, appealed to Yemenis yesterday to end the fighting. "This is very regrettable and is of no benefit to anyone. The loser is the Yemeni people," said Mr al-Zayani, secretary-general of the Gulf Co-operation Council.