Report: Dozens of Yemeni civilians dead

Yemeni anti-government protesters shout slogans during a rally in Sanaa on July 8.Human Rights Watch says Yemeni forces may have killed dozens of civilians It says witnesses report indiscriminate attacks with no visible fighting nearbyA spokesman for the ruling party calls the report 100% inaccurateHe says "only al-Qaeda targets are killed by the government"

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Dozens of civilians may have been killed by Yemeni forces since May while fighting an armed Islamist group in Abyan province, the activist group Human Rights Watch said in a report released Saturday. But a spokesman for Yemen's ruling party disputed the findings.

"As Yemeni government forces battle armed militants in Abyan, civilians are paying the price," Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in the report. "Both sides need to be doing much more to protect civilians from harm, and the government should be investigating possible laws-of-war violations by its forces in Abyan."

Human Rights Watch said it did not visit Abyan province because of security concerns but received accounts of attacks from 30 witnesses who fled the clashes. The group cited several reported incidents, including what some described as indiscriminate attacks on civilians with "artillery shrapnel or small arms with no visible fighting or military targets nearby."

But the ruling party in Yemen refuted the report.

"The Yemeni government insists that the Human Rights Watch report is 100(%) inaccurate," said Tareq Shami, spokesman for the ruling General People's Congress party.

"Only al Qaeda targets are killed by the government, and there is no proof of the government being involved in the killing of civilians in Abyan."

He added, "Foreign fighters are also involved killing and attacking civilians in Abyan, not the government. We are defending the people and will continue doing so."

Abdu Ganadi, spokesman for the Yemeni government, said "all wars have casualties."

"Yemen is trying to limit the civilian deaths," Ganadi said. "Our condolence(s) to the families who lost a loved one."

Yemen has been consumed by unrest for months as protesters have demanded an end to the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule. Saleh and other senior officials were wounded June 3 in an attack on the mosque at the presidential palace. Saleh is being treated in Saudi Arabia. Officials have said he will return when he has recovered.

In recent weeks, government troops have battled both tribal forces and Islamic militants, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz contributed to this report.

CNN

Militants kill 10 Yemeni soldiers

The incident occurs in the town of Lawdar on WednesdayThe soldiers are shot by militants at a military checkpoint in the townIn other clashes, an al Qaeda commander is killed, officials say

(CNN) -- Militants gunned down 10 soldiers at a military checkpoint in southwestern Yemen, authorities said Thursday.

The incident occurred Wednesday in the town of Lawdar, security officials said.

In an unrelated incident Wednesday, the Yemen Defense Ministry said it had killed Waleed Osairi, an al Qaeda commander, along with several other suspected al Qaeda militants.

The deaths occurred in Abyan province and is part of an effort to clear the area of the terror group, the government said.

Yemen has been consumed by unrest for months as protesters have demanded an end to the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule. Saleh and other senior officials were wounded June 3 in an attack on the mosque at the presidential palace. Saleh is being treated in Saudi Arabia. Officials have said he will return when he has recovered.

In recent weeks, government troops have battled both tribal forces and Islamic militants, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz and journalist Hakim Almasari contributed to this report.

CNN

Hundreds of Yemeni troops defect to rebels (Reuters)

ADEN/SANAA (Reuters) – At least 26 Yemeni government soldiers and 17 Islamist militants linked to al Qaeda were killed on Wednesday in heavy fighting for control of a stadium near the southern city of Zinjibar, officials said.

The military setback, following reports that 300 of his soldiers had defected to the opposition, was another blow to President Ali Abdullah Saleh as recovers in Saudi Arabia from injuries sustained in an attack on his palace in early June.

Yemen, the poorest Arab state and a neighbor of the world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has been shaken by months of protests against Saleh's three-decade rule, a resurgent wing of al Qaeda and a separatist rebellion in the south.

The United States and Saudi Arabia fear that al Qaeda may use the chaos to launch attacks in the region and beyond.

Yemeni officials said the militants seized control of the stadium from government forces, who have been using the facility -- built recently to host a regional football tournament -- to support troops fighting to dislodge the militants from Zinjibar.

An official said losing the stadium, located near a military base from which government forces had been launching attacks on Zinjibar, exposed a military base that had been used to launch attacks on the militants in Zinjibar. A counter offensive to retake the position was in progress, he said.

"The militant control of the field will leave the back of the camp from the east exposed," the official said.

Yemeni officials had been reporting successes against the estimated 300 militants who seized control of Zinjibar in May in the midst of a groundswell of popular protests against the nearly 33-year autocratic rule of Saleh.

His opponents say his forces handed over the city to the militants to bolster his argument that his departure would lead to an Islamist takeover of the Arabian Peninsula state.

Yemeni air force planes had killed at least 10 gunmen in attacks on Zinjibar earlier on Wednesday, a local Yemeni official said. One strike mistakenly hit a bus traveling from Zinjibar to Aden, the official added, killing five passengers and wounding 12 other people.

DEFECTION

Earlier in the day, opposition officials reported that more than 300 members of Yemeni security forces, including 150 from the Republican Guards led by Saleh's son Ahmed, had defected to rebels.

"From the podium of the Square of Change in Sanaa, an announcement has been issued that 150 soldiers from the Republican Guards, 130 Central Security soldiers and 60 policemen have joined the revolt," an opposition message said.

No government officials were immediately available to comment on the report.

If confirmed, the mutinies would be a serious reverse for Saleh, who has spent the past three weeks receiving medical treatment in Riyadh for wounds suffered in the June 3 attack.

The defections are the latest in a series by security forces since the anti-Saleh uprising began in February. Most prominent was the defection in March of Brigadier General Ali Mohsen, who has since sent in his troops to guard protesters in Sanaa.

The protests have culminated in battles between Saleh loyalists and gunmen from the powerful Hashed tribal federation in Sanaa that brought the country to the verge of civil war.

Months of unrest have cost Yemen $4 billion, a senior Yemeni official said on Wednesday, adding the Arab state was in talks with potential donors to help plug a gap of $1.5 billion in government commitments for projects funded by Sanaa.

"We are talking with the IMF, the World Bank and donor countries, whether Gulf Arab states or others. There may be some discussions next week with the IMF," Abdulla al-Shater, deputy planning and international cooperation minister, told reporters on the sidelines of a financial conference in Saudi Arabia.

Yemen has been largely quiet with a ceasefire in place since Saleh was injured in the attack, which investigators say was caused by explosives planted in the palace mosque where he and several senior government officials were praying

Saleh, 69, who has not been seen in public since the attack, has resisted pressure from the United States and Saudi Arabia to hand over power to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, under a Gulf nations' initiative to end the crisis.

Hadi has been running the country in Saleh's absence, but the opposition wants the president to officially hand over power to him to pave the way for new elections.

Officials have said the president will soon make his first public appearance since the attack with a recorded message to be broadcast on Yemeni state television.

OFFICER KILLED

In further violence, a bomb killed a colonel when it exploded in his car on Tuesday night in the port city of Aden, a security source said on Wednesday.

The source said that Colonel Khaled al-Yafi'i was the commander of a military outpost guarding the Aden Free Zone business park's entrance.

The outpost was targeted by a car bomb on Friday that killed four soldiers and a civilian and injured 16 other people.

No one has claimed responsibility for the colonel's killing, but Islamist militants affiliated with al Qaeda are active in southern Yemen.

(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif in Jeddah; writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Richard Meares)

Yahoo! News

Fighting engulfs volatile Yemeni town

Yemeni anti-government protesters shout slogans against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa on June 12.NEW: State TV reports a deadly attack in Zinjibar and arrests in AdenFighting also occurs in the Lahj provincial capitalMilitants attack government compounds in HawtaYemen has been wracked by protests and fighting

(CNN) -- Fighting flared in Yemen's volatile southern region Thursday, as security forces battled armed Islamic militants in one town and reports surfaced of arrests and deaths in two other cities.

Fighting erupted for six hours in the Lahj province capital of Hawta Wednesday when armed Islamic militants attacked government compounds, according to a security official -- who asked not to be named because he's not authorized to speak to the media.

Three people died and at least 12 people were wounded in the Wednesday clashes, the official said. The fierce fighting between security personnel and insurgents resumed on Thursday, witnesses said.

Yemeni state TV also reported unrest in the southern towns of Zinjibar and Aden.

It said al Qaeda militants in Zinjibar killed two residents and injured another in a mortar attack, and it reported the arrests of 10 al Qaeda members and five other people for firing at civilians and ransacking stores in Aden's Mansoura area.

The security official and witnesses provided more detail to CNN about the fighting in Hawta.

Armed militants took over security offices and fired rocket-propelled grenades at the central bank branch office and the compound of the judiciary on Wednesday, the official said.

Terrified eyewitnesses and residents said they were ordered by the militants to stay indoors, and shops were forced to shut down.

"The gunmen were in control quickly and government forces did not fight back in most cases," said Abdul Sattar Ali, a store owner in the province. "The gunmen occupied the buildings quickly."

Impoverished Yemen has been wracked with tension in recent months.

Anti-government demonstrations have engulfed the country, and protesters are demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh leave office. Saleh was wounded nearly two weeks ago when the presidential compound was attacked, and he is recovering at a hospital in neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Government forces have been locked in conflict with al Qaeda's Yemen wing, and authorities fear that the group, called al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is exploiting the country's political instability. AQAP has a strong presence in southern Yemen.

CNN

Yemeni president's health 'improving'

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (pictured in 2008) was injured Friday in an attack on his presidential compound.President Saleh is in "stable" condition, says the Yemeni Embassy in the U.S.It says the president will return to Yemen "soon after he recovers"He is being treated in Saudi Arabia

(CNN) -- Yemen's injured president "continues to improve" after he was hurt in a strike Friday at the mosque in the presidential compound in Sanaa, the Yemeni Embassy in Washington said Wednesday.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh's "health condition is stable," the embassy said in a press statement.

He was taken to a hospital in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for treatment. He is recovering from burns over 40% of his body and a collapsed lung, a U.S. government official has said.

An Arab diplomatic source with knowledge of Saleh's condition has said that one shrapnel wound was 7 centimeters (2.75 inches) deep.

The embassy said Saleh will return to Yemen from Saudi Arabia "to re-assume his duties soon after he recovers."

At present, Vice President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi "is the acting president in charge of the caretaker government during President Saleh's temporary medical leave."

The strike hit Al-Nahdayn Mosque in the presidential compound during Friday prayers, and the assault is under investigation by law enforcement officials and forensic specialists.

An imam and several guards were killed, and other senior officials, including the prime minister, were wounded and taken to Saudi Arabia for treatment.

"The perpetrators of this bloody attack will be captured and prosecuted accordingly," the embassy's press statement said.

Fighting between government and tribal forces has been raging in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, where thousands of anti-government protesters have been pressuring Saleh to give up power since January.

The unrest also has spread to other parts of the country. On Tuesday, witnesses said tribal fighters took control of the city of Taiz in southwest Yemen.

Saleh is unpopular among many citizens but has been a key U.S. ally in the fighting against Islamic militants, particularly al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

For weeks a deal has been in the works for Saleh's departure but it has fallen through. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, an alliance of Gulf Arab countries, has worked to broker the deal between the ruling party and the opposition.

One Yemeni government official, who has asked not to be named because he's not authorized to speak with the media, said communications between the ruling party and the opposition continues until Saleh is back.

"We hope he'll be back within 10 days," the official said.

As for the presidential palace strike, the source said it's too early to speculate on the details of the attack, which could have been caused by a rocket, a mortar shell or a bomb.

The official also spoke about Zinjibar, a town taken over by Islamic militants in Abyan province, saying government forces are in the process of retaking it.

"Clashes are still happening, but not door-to-door clashes," the official said. "Parts of the city are witnessing gun battles between the militants and security forces. It will take some time to root out the militants without causing heavy collateral damage."

The International Committee of the Red Cross and the Yemen Red Crescent are working to help the people of the country, and the ICRC issued a report on Wednesday that detailed the problems and the challenges of living in the restive land.

"Because of the fighting, it has often been difficult for medical personnel to reach certain parts" of Sanaa, said Jean-Nicolas Marti, the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen. "Whenever there has been a moment of calm, dozens of people have been calling the ICRC, asking for help transferring the wounded to a hospital and recovering the bodies of the dead."

Marti said Sanaa is no longer the "lively city crowded with people and vehicles throughout the day, and filled with brightly lit shops open until late at night."

"There is now a high degree of tension in the streets," he said. People are living "day by day," stockpiling food and water, and staying in their houses. Men are sending women and children to relatives' homes in safer locations.

"People are in a constant state of alert in Sanaa and elsewhere in the country," Marti said.

"Blasts and gunshots were being heard every day until recently. Everyone was afraid that their home would be the next to be hit by a stray bullet or by something even more terrifying. Although an unusual calm has descended on the city, the nervousness and tension remain palpable."

Many employers have had to close and many jobs are threatened, and electricity has become a rare commodity throughout the country, the ICRC said.

Johannes Bruwer, the ICRC's head of the water and habitat department in Yemen, added that the country "is also in the grips of a long-term water shortage that leaves people feeling constantly anxious and concerned about whether they will have enough clean water at the end of each day."

CNN

Yemeni leader accepts Saudi offer of treatment (AP)

SANAA, Yemen – Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh accepted an offer from the Saudi king to get medical treatment there for wounds from a rebel rocket attack, but had not yet left his country, officials close to the president said Saturday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, said Saleh spoke to Saudi King Abdullah shortly after the rocket attack Friday night that wounded Saleh and five top government officials. Eleven security men were killed.

Sheik Mohammed Nagi al-Shayef, a leader of the Saleh-allied Bakeel tribe, said he met with Saleh Saturday evening at the Defense Ministry compound in the capital.

"He suffered burns but they were not serious. He was burned on both hands, his face and head," al-Shayef told The Associated Press.

He said Saleh also was hit by jagged pieces of wood that splintered from the mosque pulpit. There were about 200 people inside the mosque when the rocket landed.

A secretary in Saleh's office and a member of his ruling party said the president's plane was still at the Sanaa airport.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Officials close to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh say he has accepted an offer from the Saudi king to travel there for medical treatment for wounds from a rebel rocket attack, but has not yet left Sanaa, the capital.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, said Saleh spoke to Saudi King Abdullah shortly after the rocket attack Friday night that wounded Saleh and five top government officials. Eleven security men were killed.

A secretary in Saleh's office and a member of his ruling party said the president's plane was still at the Sanaa airport.

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Yemeni officials treated in S. Arabia

NEW: Saudi source says Saleh has arrived in Saudi ArabiaA tribal leader's home is struck and casualties are reportedPresident Saleh says "gangsters," not the "youth's revolution," are behind the attackA sheikh and at least three bodyguards were killed, while Saleh was among those hurt

(CNN) -- Yemeni security forces pounded the home of a tribal leader whose supporters are suspected of injuring top government officials, a flurry of shelling that left 10 people dead and 35 others wounded.

Meanwhile, there were mixed reports about the whereabouts of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who suffered a slight head injury during an attack Friday at the presidential palace in Sanaa.

A Saudi government source told CNN that Saleh arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. However, Yemeni Deputy Information Minister Mohammed Iljendi denied in a TV interview that the president was in Saudi Arabia.

Government forces targeted the dwelling of tribal leader Hamid al-Ahmar in the southern part of Sanaa on Friday, al-Ahmar spokesman Fawzi Al-Jaradi told CNN Saturday.

The attack came on the same day fighting intensified in the capital, with government and tribal forces trading fire.

Shells hammered the mosque at the palace of Saleh, killing an imam and several security guards and wounding Saleh and high-ranking senior officials -- all of whom were observing Friday Muslim prayers.

Demonstrations have unfolded in Yemeni cities for months between supporters of Saleh and anti-government forces who want the president to leave office.

In Sanaa's Change Square, tens of thousands of demonstrators congregated Saturday.

Another flashpoint town is Taiz, where protesters retook an iconic square in the center of the city on Saturday after government forces cleared it out last week. Eyewitnesses said security forces tried to disperse crowds of anti-government demonstrators by shooting at them and that at least two were injured.

Yemen's tough crackdown against peaceful protesters in Taiz prompted a denunciation on Saturday by Human Rights Watch, an international organization that monitors human rights violations.

"First the security forces kill and wound protesters, then they keep medical workers from treating the wounded and raze the protesters' camps to wipe out all traces of them," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

"Foreign countries need to respond. They should freeze the assets of the president and other top officials until these horrendous abuses stop and those responsible are brought to account," said Stork, whose group also called for the export bans on arms and security equipment to Yemen.

And now, fears of all-out civil war have spiked since, as government forces and Hashed tribesmen have been battling in the capital since late last month.

The presidential palace attack illustrates the escalating violence.

Those taken to Saudi Arabia for treatment include prime minister, Ali Mujawar; deputy prime ministers Rashad al-Alimi and Sadeq Amin Abu Rasand; Shura Council Chairman Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani; Parliament speaker Yahya Al-Raee; and Shura Council Chairman Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghan.

A Yemeni official who asked not to be named told CNN that Saleh was in the mosque when two "projectiles" were fired during Friday prayers. He confirmed the death of Sheikh Ali Mohsen al-Matari and four bodyguards. State-run news agency SABA, citing a source in Saleh's office, said three guards and the sheikh were killed.

In a televised speech Friday night, the president said the attack occurred as talks were taking place between him and affiliates of Sadeq al-Ahmar, the head of the Hashed tribe whose break with Saleh has been followed by spiraling violence.

Eyewitnesses, residents and government officials say Hashed tribesmen carried out Friday's attack on the presidential palace. But the spokesman for Sadeq al-Ahmar denied it.

"The Hashed tribesmen were not behind these attacks on the presidential palace and if they were, they would not deny it," according to Abdulqawi al-Qaisi.

According to the independent International Crisis Group, tensions escalated May 23 when fighting erupted between military forces controlled by "Saleh's son and nephews and fighters loyal to the pre-eminent sheikh of the powerful Hashed confederation, Sadeq al-Ahmar."

In his speech, the president said those behind Friday's attacks were not connected with the youth-led movement in Sanaa's Change Square. Rather, he said that "gangsters" perpetrated the strike as part of their bid to overthrow his government and destroy Yemen's economic achievements.

"I salute the armed forces everywhere and the courageous security forces who are keen on combating the attacks by a criminal gang that is acting outside of the law and is not affiliated with the youth's revolution present in Change Square," Saleh said.

Mohammed Qahtan, the spokesman for the Joint Meeting Parties, Yemen's largest opposition coalition, said that "the attack on the palace was pre-planned by President Saleh to make people forget about the attacks that he has committed over the last two weeks."

Qahtan said Saleh's forces have "bombarded most of the al-Ahmar family properties after the palace attack" and have killed hundreds over the past two weeks.

While Saleh has been unpopular among many inside his country, he has been a longtime ally of the United States in the war against terror.

The United States has counted on his government to be a bulwark against militants, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but it believes he should transfer power in order to maintain stability in the country.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said on Friday that John Brennan, the president's homeland security adviser, traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for meetings with government officials to "discuss options to address the deteriorating situation" in Yemen.

Protesters upset over what they regard as political oppression and government corruption want Saleh step down. A deal to make that happen, fashioned by the regional Gulf Cooperation Council, has broken down.

Human Rights Watch has confirmed the deaths of 166 people in attacks by security forces and pro-government assailants on largely peaceful protesters since February.

It said at least 130 people have died in heavy fighting since May 23 between government and tribal forces in the Sanaa area , "but because of precarious security conditions," the group can't confirm how many were civilians.

Human Rights Watch said the United States, the European Union and Gulf states "have condemned serious human rights violations and stepped up calls for the president to relinquish power, but have stopped short of imposing arms embargoes and individual sanctions similar to those in place against officials in Syria and Libya." It also criticized the U.N. Security Council "for stalling" on addressing Yemen.

"After months of coordinated attacks by government forces and armed gangs on largely peaceful protesters in Yemen, the silence of the Security Council is deafening," Stork said. "It's past time for the Security Council to take steps to help protect the Yemeni people from unlawful attacks."

CNN's Chris Lawrence, Jamie Crawford and Joe Sterling contributed to this report

CNN

3 killed during clashes in Yemeni capital

NEW: An EU official denounces the Yemeni regime and "grave" human rights violationsAt least 23 people are reportedly killed this week in Taiz, a hub of anti-regime protests Security forces use bulldozers and fire to dismantle protesters' camps, witnesses say Regime spokesman: Forces were rescuing colleagues captured by protesters

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Three people were killed Tuesday during clashes in Taiz, a center of protests against the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to a field hospital staff member and a youth leader.

Another 26 were injured by gunfire, said Yasser Nomeree, the hospital staffer, and Bushra Maktari, the youth leader. The Organizing Committee of the Youth Revolution said Republican Guards shot at demonstrators in downtown Taiz.

Meanwhile, fires raged in some areas of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Tuesday as clashes took place in seven parts of the city, according to eyewitnesses.

The al-Ahmar family -- which opposes the regime -- captured government buildings in the Hasaba neighborhood of Sanaa, according to eyewitnesses.

Hasaba is home to Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, leader of the powerful al-Hashid tribe, whose forces oppose the government.

Government spokesman Tarek Shami said the al-Ahmar family "started occupying government buildings, therefore the government had to react."

Hundreds of loud explosions were heard Tuesday in Sanaa as tanks fired mortar shells and heavy artillery fire. Thick black smoke hung in the air as thousands of armed men clashed on city streets.

"The government has ended the cease-fire and started attacking," said Abdulqawi Qaisi, spokesman for the al-Ahmar family. "The tribes of Ahmar need to defend themselves."

Over the weekend, Shami said the government would halt all military action against the tribe for two days to allow mediators to broker a deal between the two sides.

The powerful al-Hashid tribe, which includes the al-Ahmar family, rose up against Saleh this month after the longtime leader backed out of a regionally brokered deal meant to ease him out of office and end months of demonstrations.

Catherine Ashton, foreign policy chief of the European Union, denounced the attacks in Taiz.

"I am shocked and condemn in the strongest terms the use of force and live ammunition against peaceful protesters in the city of Taiz," Ashton said in a statement Tuesday. "The continued repression by the Yemeni regime and grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law cannot be accepted."

Ashton also called for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to launch an independent assessment.

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay denounced the "intensified use of force against anti-Government protesters," according to a statement from the office of the high commissioner Tuesday.

On Monday, security forces set fire to tents and tore through demonstrators' camps in Freedom Square in Taiz with bulldozers, an activist and eyewitnesses said.

The protest camp was virtually eliminated on Monday, according to Maktati. A field hospital was also dismantled, with the equipment taken away by troops, Maktati, the youth leader, said.

At least 70 tents had been burned down by security forces since late Sunday night, according to witnesses.

On Monday, security forces arrested youths and took them from the streets to an unknown location, Maktati said.

Abdu Ganadi, a government spokesman, said security forces were rescuing colleagues who had been captured and beaten by protesters.

"We did not attack the protesters," Ganadi said. "Reports are all exaggerated. Only two were killed."

He said protesters' tents were burned by people attacked by the protesters, and that tents that burned were empty.

Troops also used water cannons Monday to disperse thousands of protesters in Taiz. A day earlier, clashes left at least 20 people dead and 200 wounded, according to eyewitnesses and two medical officials who could not be named because of security concerns.

Maktati said the attacks would not stop their protests.

"Our revolution will not stop even if hundreds are killed every day," said Sameer Al-Samaee, a leading youth activist in Taiz. "Killing innocent civilians always leads to war crime charges, and that is what we are seeking for Saleh."

The nation's largest cell phone network was ordered to shut down Sunday, according to a senior official with the country's Communications Ministry who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The SABAFON network was ordered shut down because of violations and unpaid fines over the last few years, the Communications Ministry official told CNN.

A management official with the SABAFON network, who also was not authorized to speak to the press, confirmed the shutdown. The official denied the government's allegations and said the move appeared to be a tactic to pressure members of the al-Ahmar family, including Hamid al-Ahmar -- the president's chief political enemy.

The official said members of the al-Ahmar family are majority shareholders in SABAFON, with the largest shareholder being Hamid al-Ahmar.

Saleh has resisted protests calling on him to step down after 33 years in power.

The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa has condemned what it called the "unprovoked and unjustified attack" on demonstrators in Taiz. It praised the protesters and called on Saleh "to move immediately on his commitment to transfer power."

The recent fighting has raised fears of a full-blown civil war in Yemen, an impoverished, arid and mountainous nation that has been a key U.S. ally in the battle against the al Qaeda terrorist network.

CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.

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Yemeni air force bombs al Qaeda-held city (Reuters)

SANAA/TAIZ (Reuters) – The Yemeni air force bombed an al Qaeda-held southern city on Monday and residents in another city said soldiers had opened fire on a demonstration and run protesters over with bulldozers, killing at least 15.

In the latest sign Saudi Arabia's neighbor was moving toward civil war, six soldiers were killed in what appeared to be an ambush near Zinjibar, a coastal city taken over a few days ago by Islamist and al Qaeda militants.

Residents said jet fighters later strafed militant positions with bombs.

Global powers are worried the country, already on the verge of financial collapse and home to al Qaeda militants, could turn into a failed state that threatens the oil-rich region and Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter.

A brief calm was shattered on Sunday when forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh opened fire on protesters in Taiz, killing at least 15 people and wounding hundreds, hospital sources said, adding the death toll was almost certain to rise.

"Most of the wounded were hit by live bullets, but some were run over by bulldozers," a medical source said from a field hospital.

Fresh protests are planned on Monday in Taiz, where Saleh's troops have burned tents used by demonstrators and parked armored vehicles in a protest area known as "Freedom Square."

Security forces arrested dozens on Monday, trying to head off the rally demanding an end to Saleh's nearly 33 year rule.

"Security forces are chasing youths in alleys after soldiers close down the city's entry points," said pro-reform activist Boshra al-Maqtari.

Opposition leaders have accused Saleh of allowing the city of Zinjibar, on the Gulf of Aden, to fall to al Qaeda and Islamist militants in order to raise alarm in the region that would in turn translate into support for the president.

The six soldiers were killed and dozens wounded as they were traveling to Zinjibar, a security official and others said. The official did not know who was responsible for the attack.

"Civilians found a military car and an armored vehicles. They were destroyed, and the bodies of six soldiers were found on the roadside," Ayman Mohamed Nasser, editor-in-chief of Attariq, Aden's main opposition paper, said by telephone.

Several hundred al Qaeda and Islamist militants took over the city a few days ago and have been battling locals and government soldiers for control.

Zinjibar residents told Reuters power and water had been cut off and many civilians were fleeing to nearby towns.

TROUBLE IN TAIZ

In Taiz, about 150 km (95 miles) to the northwest, police on Sunday night fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators outside a municipal building demanding the release of a fellow protester who was arrested on Saturday.

The clashes took place near Freedom Square where thousands of anti-government protesters have been camping since January to demand Saleh's ouster.

In the capital Sanaa, about 200 km (124 miles) north, several explosions were heard on Sunday night in the district of Hasaba, the scene of week-long fighting between Saleh's forces and a rival tribe in which 115 people were killed, residents said.

There were no immediate details of the explosions, which may have breached a truce between Saleh's forces and the powerful Hashed tribe led by Sadeq al-Ahmar to stop the bloodiest fighting since unrest erupted in January.

BLOOD ON THE STREETS

About 300 people have been killed over the past months in demonstrations demanding an end to Saleh's nearly 33-year reign in Yemen, by protesters inspired by the "Arab Spring" movement which toppled the long-standing rulers of Tunisia and Egypt.

Tribal leader Ahmar condemned what he described as "Saleh's new massacre" of civilians in Taiz.

A breakaway military group called for other army units to join them in the fight to bring down Saleh, piling pressure on him to end his three-decade rule over the destitute country.

Generals and government officials began to abandon Saleh after deadly crackdowns on protesters started in force in March. There have been no major clashes yet between the breakaway military units and troops loyal to Saleh.

Despite demands by global and regional powers that he step down, Saleh has refused to sign a deal, mediated by Gulf states, to start a transition of power aimed at averting civil war that could shake the region that supplies much of the world's oil.

Fears are growing that Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) will exploit such instability, analysts said. The United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of attacks by AQAP, are worried that growing chaos is emboldening the group.

Yemen, which sits beside a shipping lane through which about 3 million barrels of oil pass daily, is the poorest state on the Arabian Peninsula with about 40 percent of its 23 million people living on less than $2 a day.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Ghobari in Sanaa, Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden, Mahmoud Habboush and Nour Merza in Dubai; writing by Jon Herskovitz in Dubai; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Evacuations, clashes in Yemeni capital

Yemeni anti-government protesters call for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down from office on Saturday, May 28.NEW: Three French humanitarian workers were kidnapped Saturday, source saysGunfire erupted in the Yemeni capital after mediation deadline expiresMediation efforts were meant to stem clashes between tribal groups and governmentSome Yemeni residents ordered to evacuate parts of their capital city

(CNN) -- Sporadic gunfire erupted in the Yemeni capital early Saturday evening, just moments after a mediation deadline expired without a peace agreement between the country's long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh and tribal factions, according to witnesses and a senior tribal leader involved in mediation efforts who was not authorized to speak to the media.

The deadline had been set for 6 p.m. (11a.m. EST) and was meant to stem a rash of recent violence between the country's tribal groups and government security forces, both now poised in a standoff in-and-around the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

Witnesses described "light clashes" between the two sides, roughly 30 minutes after the deadline had expired.

Some residents had heeded calls to evacuate parts of their capital city Saturday in expectation of further clashes between the two groups, but most remained firmly entrenched in their homes, according to witnesses.

The order was carried out by members of the country's Republican Guard and law enforcement, who warned residents in city neighbourhoods of more confrontations after tensions flared Friday between Nehm tribesmen and soldiers of the Republican Guard.

The tribesmen said the soldiers attacked a village, but tribal fighters, battling back, managed to take over military compounds.

Elsewhere, three French humanitarian workers were kidnapped Saturday in the southern city of Say'oon, according to a senior Interior Ministry official in that city.

Meanwhile, armed tribesmen were seen massing at four locations around Sanaa, witnesses said, as well as near the house of Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, the leader of the powerful al-Hashid tribe whose forces oppose the government.

A leading opposition group -- the Islah party -- issued a statement Saturday warning the government against any attack against the Al-Ahmar residence.

Tribesmen also gathered near the offices and the businesses of leading opposition officials, they said.

The standoff comes on the heels of five large explosions heard outside the al-Hashid tribal chief's home Friday evening.

On the government side, security forces on Saturday could be seen positioned outside government buildings, Sanaa International Airport, houses of ruling party officials and along main streets of the capital, witnesses said.

Nearly every main street in Sanaa has a checkpoint manned by security forces, they added.

Snipers were also perched on roof tops, particularly near the Presidential Palace, Republican Palace and the Central Security Forces headquarters located inside the capital.

The moves come one day after Yemen air force combat jets bombed tribal forces opposed to the embattled Yemeni president, according to a senior defense official.

At least seven air force bombers were deployed east of Sanaa to the district of Nehm, where two military compounds had been overtaken earlier by tribal fighters, said the official, who was not identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Ahmed Soufi, a senior advisor to Saleh, said 18 people were killed in the fighting.

Witnesses in Nehm said the air-strikes were carried out in several areas of the province northeast of Sanaa, including Al-Fartha Thoma and Beni Shokan.

Clashes in Nehm -- a district with approximately 35 tribes, though not affiliated with al-Hashid -- have been going on for the past month, but erupted this week after tribesmen were barred from entering Sanaa.

Abdul Makik Ali, a Nehm tribal fighter said at least seven tribes joined to fight the Yemeni soldiers Friday.

The recent fighting has raised fears of a full-blown civil war in Yemen, an impoverished, arid and mountainous nation that has been a key U.S. ally in the battle against the al Qaeda terrorist network.

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Yemeni jets bomb opposition forces

NEW: The blasts are in the area where a tribal leader opposed to the government lives NEW: A new U.S. message urges U.S. citizens to depart YemenEarlier, a Yemeni defense official says seven air force jets struck east of SanaaHe says tribesmen had overtaken two military compounds

(CNN) -- Five loud explosions rung out early Saturday in the Yemeni capital, residents said, amid a surge of violence pitting tribal forces against those loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The latest blasts appeared to be in the Al-Hasabah neighborhood of Sanaa, which is home to Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, the leader of the powerful al-Hashid tribe whose forces oppose the government.

On Friday, a senior Yemeni defense official said that at least seven air force combat jets had bombed tribal forces opposed to the president.

The bombers were deployed east of Sanaa to the district of Nehm, where two military compounds had been overtaken earlier by tribal fighters, said the official, who was not identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Ahmed Soufi, a senior adviser to Saleh, said 18 people were killed in the fighting.

Witnesses in Nehm said the airstrikes were carried out in several areas of the province northeast of Sanaa, including Al-Fartha Thoma and Beni Shokan.

The fighting started earlier Friday between the Nehm tribesmen and soldiers of the Yemeni Republican Guard.

The tribesmen said the soldiers attacked a village and tribal fighters, battling back, managed to take over military compounds. They said several Yemeni soldiers were killed but CNN could not verify casualties.

"The guards attacked one of our villages for no reason," said Sheikh Moqbel Najeeb, a tribal leader in the area. "We will not accept that and will fight back against anyone who tries to attack us."

The clashes in Nehm have been going on for the past month, Soufi said. He said the tribal fighters were encouraged by the actions of al-Ahmar.

Soufi said the fighting this week erupted after tribesmen were barred from entering Sanaa.

The Nehm district has about 35 tribes but they are not affiliated with al-Hashid.

Abdul Makik Ali, a Nehm tribal fighter said at least seven tribes joined to fight the Yemeni soldiers Friday.

"Our blood is not cheap and we will avenge from the government for every drop of Nehm blood that is shed," Ali said.

The rising violence and unrest prompted a video statement, issued online Friday, by the Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Janice Jacobs urging American citizens "to depart Yemen while commercial transportation is available." The message also outlined ways for people to contact the U.S. government, whether they planned to stay in or leave the Arab nation.

"Rest assured, the State Department is monitoring events in Yemen very closely," said Jacobs.

Saleh, who has ruled Yemen since 1978, has been clinging to power amid a wave of protests calling for his ouster in the past few months.

The simultaneous tribal battle began after a regionally brokered deal calling for Saleh to leave office fell through. Saleh himself is a member of the al-Hashid tribe, a huge entity with many strands.

After an incident in March during which dozens of anti-government demonstrators were killed, al-Ahmar embraced the anti-government demonstrators and broke ranks with the president. Since then, more and more tribal members have turned their backs on the president.

The recent fighting has raised fears of a full-blown civil war in Yemen, an impoverished, arid and mountainous nation that has been a key U.S. ally in the battle against the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Government troops fought street battles with one of Yemen's leading tribes in the capital Thursday, leaving dozens dead as prosecutors sought the arrests of several tribal leaders.

More than 28 people were killed in an explosion at a weapons depot in Sanaa during clashes with members of the al-Hashid tribe, which has turned against Saleh.

Government forces, meanwhile, hit an opposition-controlled television station with rocket-propelled grenades overnight, taking it off the air, witnesses said Thursday. Government troops blocked the roads leading into the capital to prevent other tribal forces from joining the battle.

Witnesses said the fighting subsided considerably after nightfall, but gunfire still crackled across several parts of Sanaa.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said the escalation in violence was alarming. Spokesman Rupert Colville said Friday that the agency has received reports of dozens of civilian casualties, including women and children, in the fighting over the past few days .

"We are deeply concerned that such violence may be pushing the country to the brink of a civil war," Colville said at a briefing in Geneva.

"We call on the government to stop the excessive and disproportionate use of force, to stop targeting activists, human rights defenders and journalists, and to seriously investigate all allegations of crimes committed by security forces."

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Yemeni opposition signs transition deal

NEW: Secretary of State Clinton calls on Saleh to transfer powerThe Yemeni president plans to sign the agreement on SundayOther tries to reach a deal have come close to success, but failedThe Gulf Cooperation has shepherded the effort to end the crisis

(CNN) -- Yemen's opposition has signed a regionally brokered deal that would result in the departure of controversial President Ali Abdullah Saleh and end the country's grinding political crisis, opposition officials told CNN.

The president has not yet signed the agreement, designed by the Gulf Cooperation Council, but is expected to do so on Sunday morning, a government official and an opposition official said.

Previous attempts to reach a similar pact -- guided by the alliance of Gulf Arab nations -- have come close to being finished, only to fall through.

While the opposition has been asserting that Saleh has been stalling and is not willing to sign the deal, Yemen's political leadership on Thursday said the hurdles toward forging an agreement were resolved.

Members of the opposition signed the deal in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday night and the president is expected to sign the agreement there as well.

"There were small differences both sides had before signing, but we succeeded in solving the differences," said Mohammed Abulahoum, president of the Justice and Building party.

Abulahoum has helped Abdul Latif Zayani, general secretary of the coalition of Gulf Arab nations, mediate between the leadership and the opposition.

"The signing today opens the door for a better Yemen," Abdulahoum said.

Saleh, who has held power in Yemen for 33 years, is unpopular in many quarters of the country, but he has been a stalwart U.S. ally against terrorism.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Yemen is in "trying times," with suppression and deaths of civilians.

"President Saleh needs to follow through on his commitment to transfer power. The government of Yemen must address the legitimate will of the people," she said in a statement Saturday.

"The United States will continue to support the Yemeni people as you work toward a unified, stable, democratic, and prosperous Yemen. We continue to call for a peaceful transition of power so that the citizens of Yemen may one day realize your aspirations," Clinton said.

Yemen has a strong presence of militants, particularly al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and the impoverished country has been wracked with violent anti-government protests calling for Saleh's ouster.

John Brennan, the top counterterrorism adviser in the White House, has urged Saleh to sign the agreement and make way for political transition.

Tareq Shami, spokesman for the ruling party, said Saleh asked Zayani to delay the signing until Sunday because it's Yemen's unity holiday.

"President Saleh will sign the GCC proposal and he asked Zayani days ago to delay the signing of the proposal until Sunday May 22, as this day is Yemen's unity holiday," Shami said.

"Zayani was pleased that he was able to help end the Yemeni crisis."

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Yemeni soldiers slain in countryside

Other than Taiz, anti-government marches were peacefulFor the second straight day, militants killed Yemeni soldiersAl Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is blamed for the killings

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Violence rocked embattled Yemen on Saturday as suspected militants killed government soldiers for the second day in a row and security forces wounded around three dozen anti-government protesters.

The unrest comes as the regime is coping with two conflicts -- militant activity across the country and an anti-government movement demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Six soldiers were killed and five others were injured in the Baitha provincial town of Rada'a, the Interior Ministry said.

It is blaming al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for an attack on security forces.

"The terrorist group attacked them in large numbers. They were at least 20 terrorists and well armed," Amer Shaibari, a security official in Rada'a said.

On Friday, at least five soldiers were killed in Marib province by the al Qaeda group, a force that Yemen and the United States have been fighting for years.

Yemen's government is unpopular among many citizens, and it has been facing a lot of street opposition in recent months.

* * More than half a million protesters marched the streets of Taiz on Saturday demanding the ouster of the Saleh regime., ,

At least 35 protesters were injured when the republican guard and the central security opened fire at a protest in downtown Taiz province, medical staff said. Eyewitnesses said they saw at least 20 snipers taking shots at marchers from rooftops.

At least 10 of the injured were shot by security forces and more than 25 beaten by batons and rocks, said Yasser Nusairi of the medical staff in Taiz., , One of those injured was shot in the head and is in critical condition.

* * "It's the same procedure every time with the government. We get attacked only because we march peacefully," said Saleh Ariki, a protester beaten with a baton in Taiz by security forces. "Marchers were attacked three times today already.", ,

Along with Taiz, protesters also took to the streets in several provinces, including Sanaa, Ibb, Aden, Hodieda, Saada, Amran, Hajjah, Shabwa, and Hadramout. Except for Taiz, all of these events were peaceful.

One activist, Labib Abdullah said protesters will march to Saleh's palace on Tuesday and demand he step down.

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Yemeni security forces fire on protesters, 3 dead

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Security forces backed by army units opened fire Sunday on protesters demanding the ouster of Yemen's longtime president, killing three, an opposition activist said.

A Yemeni army officer lifted by anti-government protesters, reacts during a demonstration Sunday in Sanaa, Yemen.

In all, tens of thousands of protesters mobilized in several cities and towns, according to activists — the latest installment of daily protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh that have been staged for almost three months.

One protester was killed in the western port of Hodeida, and two were killed in the southern city of Taiz when elite Republican Guard forces tried to disperse protesters by firing in the air, according to activist Nouh al-Wafi.

In all, more than 140 people reportedly have been killed in the government crackdown on the protesters, who have nonetheless grown in number week after week.

Bushra al-Maktari, an activist in Taiz, said youthful protesters had taken over a main street in that city, setting up tents and expanding a sit-in which started on Feb. 11.

In the southern city of Aden, thousands marched against Saleh and demanded the release of detained protesters.

A deal for Saleh to step down — negotiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council— appeared close to collapse after the president said over the weekend that he would have aides sign it rather than doing so himself. The resulting deadlock threatens to plunge the already unstable nation deeper into disorder.

The mediation plan appeared close to success a week ago, with both opposition parties and Saleh agreeing to it, until the president balked just days before the signing ceremony. The plan called for Saleh to step down within 30 days, with a promise of immunity from prosecution, and for a national unity government to run the country until elections are held.

The violent crackdown on protesters has prompted several top military commanders, ruling party members and diplomats to defect to the opposition, leaving Saleh with dwindling options.

Yemen — the souhtern neighbor of Saudi Arabia— has been plagued in recent years by widespread corruption, a weak central government, a Shiite rebellion in the north, a secessionist movement in the south and one of the most active branches of al-Qaida operating in the remote hinterlands.

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Yemeni power transfer deal in limbo

NEW: President Saleh's party "has no problem signing" the deal, a party official saysNEW: The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council will return to Sanaa within 72 hoursHe'd abruptly cut short a meeting Saturday, after Saleh made last-minute demandsAn opposition official says it won't send figures to Riyadh and says Saleh is insincere

(CNN) -- A key outside broker will return to Yemen this week hoping to salvage the power transfer deal that aims to end months of turmoil in the Middle Eastern nation, a senior ruling party official said Sunday.

Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional coalition that helped broker the pact, will work this week on a solution to the crisis, according to the official. This includes a trip to Sanaa by the group's Secretary-General Abdullatif Al-Zayani He had abruptly left a meeting with President Ali Abdullah Saleh Saturday and appeared angry as he passed reporters on his way to his plane, according to a senior official in Saleh's General People's Congress party.

"Al-Zayani will be back in Yemen in the next 72 hours in an effort to end the crisis and convince both sides to sign the GCC proposal," the party official said.

Al-Zayani cut short this visit after Saleh made last-minute demands to move the pact's signing from Riyadh to Sanaa and his insistence that he'd sign it in his capacity as a leader of the ruling party and not as president.

Sunday was supposed to be a pivotal day in the process, with Saleh and opposition leaders once scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia to sign the initiative that they'd agreed to in principle at a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council member state foreign ministers. State media in the United Arab Emirates reported that Foreign Minister H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in Riyadh on Sunday to head that meeting -- though he wasn't joined by key Yemeni figures most central to the deal.

The agreement stipulates that Saleh transfer power and leave office within 30 days of signing it. It also provides immunity for him and those who served in his regime and calls for a unity government to be formed within seven days.

But, in his meeting with Al-Zayani on Saturday, Saleh said a representative from his party and not he personally would go to Riyadh. A ruling party official explained that the president feared that a coup might take place, should he leave the nation.

That prompted leaders of the Joint Meeting Parties, the country's largest opposition bloc, to refuse to fly north themselves -- be it to sign any potential deal or even take part in the briefing by foreign ministers from around the region.

"Since President Saleh is not willing to sign the GCC proposal, there is no reason for the (opposition) to travel to Riyadh. We were going to sign and nothing else," said the opposition official, who is not authorized to speak to the media.

The official added, "The opposition will not travel until we get confirmation from the GCC that Saleh will sign, and has agreed to all the points of the proposal."

But later Sunday, the General People's Congress official insisted Saleh and his party remain committed to the agreement.

"The ruling party has no problem signing the GCC proposal, and President Saleh has welcomed it more than once," said this official.

And according to Saba, Yemen's state-run news agency, Saleh himself signalled he wanted the agreement carried out "as a whole" in a conversation with United Arab Emirates President Khalifa Bin Zayad al Nahyan.

A senior opposition official on Sunday accused Saleh of trying to torpedo the accord, particularly with his insistence he sign any agreement as a party but not government official.

"He has claimed to be Yemen's president for 33 years," said Sultan Atwani, a senior Joint Meeting Parties official. "And now he wants to deny that fact and be recognized as the head of the ruling GPC party."

The uncertainty over how and when the deal can be revived comes as massive countrywide protests that began in February continue to shake the impoverished and politically unstable nation.

Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters poured out into the streets of at least 13 of the country's provinces on Saturday, all demanding that Saleh step down immediately.

CNN's Jennifer Fenton contributed to this report.

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