Ali Abdullah Saleh - Sanaa Rocked By Explosions As Salehs Troops Battle Yemen Tribal Forces - Bloomberg

Enlarge image Explosions Rock Yemeni Capital; Arab League Meets on Syria

Marwan Naamani/ AFP/Getty Images

Yemeni protestors chants slogans against embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh following a pro-democracy march in Sanaa, Yemeen.

Yemeni protestors chants slogans against embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh following a pro-democracy march in Sanaa, Yemeen. Photographer: Marwan Naamani/ AFP/Getty Images

Yemen s capital was rocked by explosions and gunfire as troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh battled tribal forces after the country s leader said his opponents are carrying out a coup.

Saleh described the opposition as insane people, who can t sleep and only want to take power, saying that will only happen through elections, Yemen s state-run news agency reported. We have strong proof of the cooperation between the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda to encourage unrest, he said.

Thousands of women congregated in front of the foreign ministry in Sana a today, calling for the international community to intervene and stop the violence after the death of a woman yesterday in clashes in the southern city of Taiz.

Thousands of protesters clashed with security forces and gunmen loyal to the president in Sana a yesterday, leaving at least 14 people dead, according to Al Jazeera television. In Taiz, protesters chanted we will prosecute the mass killer, referring to Saleh, said Hisham al-Jaradi, an activist.

Saleh returned to Yemen on Sept. 23 after three months in Saudi Arabia , where he received medical treatment following a rocket attack on his compound in the capital.

Shelling in Sana a

Demonstrations began in the Arab world s poorest country at the end of January, inspired by revolts that ousted the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and sent Libya s Muammar Qaddafi on the run. They deepened as military and tribal leaders joined the opposition. Efforts by the Gulf Cooperation Council to broker a power-transfer agreement have failed.

The army clashed yesterday with the breakaway 1st Armored Division, loyal to the tribal leader Sadiq Al-Ahmar, Al Arabiya television said. Army forces shelled several districts in Sana a with artillery and mortars, the channel said.

The fighting began soon after midnight local time, intensifying around 3 a.m. as explosions shook parts of the capital, the Associated Press said. Fighting halted at dawn with the Muslim call to prayer and resumed shortly after, it said.

Three people were killed when a mortar shell landed in a field clinic at Change Square in Sana a and the Yemeni state TV building was also hit. A brother of the tribal leader Saghir bin Ali, loyal to Saleh, was among the dead, according to Arabiya.

The six-nation GCC has rejected a request by Saleh to make changes to the proposed peace accord that would allow him to remain in power until 2013, AP said, citing an unidentified Yemeni Foreign Ministry official.

To contact the reporters on this story: Alan Bjerga in at abjerga@bloomberg.net ; Mohammed Hatem in Sana a at mhatem1@bloomberg.net .

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net

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