UN: 15 wounded in Darfur fighting (AP)

KHARTOUM, Sudan – The U.N. says at least 15 people have been wounded in an armed clash in the troubled Darfur region.

A U.N. statement Sunday said it was not known how many people were killed in the clash between "unknown armed men and the Sudanese Armed Forces." It said 15 wounded were evacuated by helicopter from the fighting in north Darfur state near Shangil Tobaya.

Sudan's government had no immediate comment.

The U.N. said about 1,000 civilians fled the scene of the battle, and all but 40 returned to their homes afterward.

The background of the clash was not immediately clear. Clashes between Sudanese government forces and rebels erupt frequently in Darfur, the scene of mass killings and attacks that forced hundreds of thousands to flee in past years,

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Chinese workers flee Myanmar fighting: report (Reuters)

YANGON (Reuters) – More than 200 Chinese workers have returned home from Myanmar after separatist rebels attacked a hydropower plant in the northern border province of Kachin, state media in Myanmar said on Saturday, the first official comment on the recent fighting.

The Chinese ambassador had met Myanmar's foreign and border affairs ministers on Friday, media said, without giving details of the discussion.

An official statement in the daily New Light of Myanmar outlined several threats since April by the Kachin Independence Army against Chinese projects in Kachin State, including the Tarpein Hydropower Project.

"The project, which is equipped with four 60-MHz generators, ceased to operate as from 14 June, causing a great loss to the state and the people," it said.

Altogether, 215 Chinese employees assigned to the project returned to China from June 9 to 14, it said.

Responding to an attack by Myanmar's army, the KIA blew up 25 bridges in the region from June 14 to 16, it added.

Residents in the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, said the region remained tense, but it was not clear if fighting was still going on.

Sources in Kachin have said hundreds of people had fled their homes in the mountainous region to escape eight days of fighting up until Thursday.

An estimated 2,000 people were reported to have sought shelter in a camp run by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the rebels' political arm, and another 7,000 had set up tents and shelters in the jungle along the frontier.

The KIO has battled the central government for decades but agreed to a ceasefire in 1994 under which its fighters were allowed to keep their arms.

However, tension has been rising since last year, largely because the Kachin have resisted government pressure to fold their men into a state-run border security force.

Analysts say Myanmar's 10-week old government, the country's first civilian-led administration in five decades, is intent on seizing control of the rebellious states but is reluctant to engage in conflict with the numerous factions.

Chinese-built dams have been divisive projects in Myanmar, with ethnic minorities seeing construction as expanding military presence into their territory. Some analysts say Kachin rebels may be trying to hold the dams hostage in return for a share of the revenue from the projects.

The risk of fighting spreading in the heavily militarized border region is a worry for China, which is building oil and gas pipelines through its Southeast Asian neighbor to improve energy security.

(Reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Writing by Alan Raybould)

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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.

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Battle for Libya oil town, fighting near Tripoli (Reuters)

BENGHAZI/ZAWIYAH, Libya (Reuters) – Rebels fighting against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi say they were repulsed by his forces in a battle to retake the eastern oil town of Brega, suffering at least four dead.

In the west, rebels said they were fighting Gaddafi's forces for a second day in the town of Zawiyah Sunday, bringing the revolt against his rule closer to the capital.

The rebels said they had lost at least four killed in fighting between Brega and Ajdabiyah. At least 65 fighters were wounded, doctors at the hospital in the rebel stronghold city of Benghazi said.

"We attacked them first but they attacked us back. We tried to get to Brega but that was difficult," Haithan Elgwei, a rebel fighter, said after returning from the front with the wounded.

"NATO (aircraft) were covering us from above but Gaddafi troops fired rockets and mortars outside Brega," Akram, 24, a wounded fighter, said.

"We will not retreat. We look forward to taking Tripoli," he added.

The fresh outbreak of fighting in Zawiyah, west of Tripoli and home to a big oil refinery, marks the closest the armed rebellion has come to Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital for months.

Reporters taken by the government to see Zawiyah, which saw intense fighting at the start of the anti-Gaddafi uprising in February and has changed hands several times, found it eerily quiet Sunday, with almost no one in sight.

Saturday, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said there was "no serious fighting" there.

Sunday, he told reporters that no more than 100 rebel fighters who had attacked to the west of the city were holed up after suffering losses and the government was trying to negotiate their surrender.

"They were defeated after a few hours of scattered skirmishes with the army," he added.

Not long after the reporters left Zawiyah, rebel spokesman M'hamed Ezzawi said by phone there was heavy fighting 400 m (yards) from the main square.

"The brigades are using heavy weapons. They are better equipped than the revolutionaries," he said. "We have no statistics so far as to the number of martyrs but there are at least seven wounded among the revolutionaries."

"DAYS ARE NUMBERED"

After the nationwide rebellion against Gaddafi's 41-year rule erupted in February, his security forces snuffed out the rebels in Zawiyah, a prelude to the revolt elsewhere in Libya losing its initial momentum.

Three months later, the war has shifted again, with Gaddafi's grip on power weakened by defections, the impact of sanctions on supplies and NATO air strikes that have struck his compound in Tripoli.

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, in an interview with Reuters, said there was a growing confidence that Gaddafi's "days are numbered."

Libyan state television broadcast images of Gaddafi -- who has been keeping a low profile since NATO began its air strikes -- meeting Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, president of the international chess federation.

Ilyumzhinov, quoted by Russian news agencies, said he played a game of chess in Tripoli with the Libyan leader, who told him he had no intention of leaving his country.

REBEL RECOGNITION

The United Arab Emirates said it had recognized the rebel Transitional National Council, based in Benghazi, joining a small but growing list of states which view the council as Libya's legitimate representatives.

Gaddafi has called the NATO intervention with warplanes and attack helicopters an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's plentiful oil.

In Tripoli residents have told Reuters of anti-Gaddafi protests, though these have been quickly dispersed by his security forces.

"The districts of Tripoli are waiting for a signal so they can all rise up together," said a resident of the city who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.

NATO member states are keen for a quick resolution in Libya because their voters do not want another long, costly conflict along the lines of those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Mussab Al-Khairall in Tripoli, Matt Robinson in Misrata, Kate Kelland in London, Andrew Hammond in Dubai and Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Writing by Michael Roddy; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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Libyan rebels say still fighting near capital (Reuters)

ZAWIYAH, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels said they were fighting forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for a second day in the town of Zawiyah on Sunday, bringing the revolt against Gaddafi's rule close to the capital.

A spokesman for the government in Tripoli said rebels had tried to enter Zawiyah, about 50 km (30 miles) from Tripoli, but had been stopped by government troops and defeated on Saturday.

But a rebel in the town contradicted that, saying heavy fighting was still taking place on Sunday, and a Reuters reporter taken on a Libyan government-organised visit to parts of Zawiyah heard shots being fired near the central square.

Zawiyah was the scene of fierce battles soon after a nationwide rebellion against Gaddafi's 41-year rule in February. His security forces snuffed out the rebels in Zawiyah, a prelude to the revolt elsewhere in Libya losing its initial momentum.

Three months later, the war has shifted against Gaddafi, with his grip on power weakened by defections in his entourage, the impact of sanctions on supplies and NATO air strikes that have struck his compound in Tripoli.

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, in an interview with Reuters, said there was a growing confidence that Gaddafi's "days are numbered."

Libyan state television broadcast images of Gaddafi -- who has been keeping a low public profile since NATO began its air strikes -- meeting Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the president of the international chess federation.

Ilyumzhinov, quoted by Russian news agencies, said he played a game of chess in Tripoli with the Libyan leader, who told him he had no intention of leaving his country.

The fresh outbreak of fighting in Zawiyah, which is the site of a big oil refinery, marks the closest the armed rebellion has come to Gaddafi's stronghold in the capital for months.

Asked about the government assertion the revolt there had been defeated, a rebel spokesman in Zawiyah told Reuters by telephone: "It is not true."

"The revolutionaries (rebels) control several parts of the coastal road linking Tripoli to Tunisia and skirmishes are still going on in the center of the city," said the spokesman, who gave his name as M'hamed Ezzawi.

Speaking earlier, Ezzawi said 13 rebel fighters and civilians, including a 7-year-old boy, had been killed in the clashes on Saturday.

REBELS "WEAK AND UNPOPULAR"

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told reporters at a news conference in Tripoli that a rebel force numbering no more than 100 attacked a checkpoint outside Zawiyah on Saturday.

He said government forces killed and captured some rebels, with the rest now surrounded in an area west of Zawiyah and negotiating their surrender.

"This is just another proof of how weak and unpopular they (the rebels) are," Ibrahim said. The rebels "cannot achieve any advance against the Libyan government," he said.

Foreign journalists were taken to Zawiyah on Sunday under the supervision of government officials. They were allowed into the eastern part of the town and the central square, but not the western side where rebels say they are fighting.

The square was almost deserted except for a few police officers and soldiers. A Reuters reporter heard three gunshots to the west of the city center. The eastern side seemed normal, with people going about their business and vehicles on the streets.

DEADLY ATTACKS

Though weakened after months of fighting and NATO attacks, Gaddafi's forces have not buckled.

An ambulance worker in rebel-held Misrata, Libya's third-biggest city, said six rebel fighters were killed by pro-Gaddafi forces when they clashed in farmland between Misrata and the neighbouring town of Zlitan.

Workers at a field hospital near the front line used buckets of water to wash away blood that gathered on the floor after ambulances and pick-up trucks brought in dozens of wounded fighters, a Reuters reporter in Misrata said.

Later, NATO warplanes were in the sky over the city and then the sound of an air strike could be heard hitting the area to the west of the city where the fighting had taken place.

Pro-Gaddafi forces also killed five people when they fired mortars and Russian-made Grad rockets at Zintan, part of the rebel-held Western Mountains region, according to a rebel spokesman.

"The shelling is still going on ... The revolutionaries are trying to defend the town," he said.

REBEL RECOGNITION

The United Arab Emirates said it recognised the rebel Transitional National Council, based in the eastern city of Benghazi, joining a small but growing list of states which view the council as Libya's legitimate representatives.

Gaddafi says he has no intention of bowing to international pressure to step down. He has called the NATO intervention with warplanes and attack helicopters an act of colonial aggression aimed at grabbing Libya's plentiful oil.

But the rebellion is inching closer to the capital as rebels gradually expand the territory they hold and reports emerge of new unrest flaring up in towns elsewhere in Libya.

Rudd, the Australian foreign minister, spoke of messages coming from various levels of Gadaffi's administration "seeking contact with the outside world about possible accommodations."

"There's a growing confidence across the international community that this guy's days are numbered," Rudd said during a visit to London.

"And when you start to have feelers from the core of the Gadaffi regime about how this guy can be accommodated, then I think the writing starts to be on the wall."

In Tripoli -- Gaddafi's main stronghold -- residents have told Reuters of anti-Gaddafi protests, though these have been quickly dispersed by his security forces.

"The districts of Tripoli are waiting for a signal so they can all rise up together," said a resident of the city who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals.

NATO member states are keen for a quick resolution in Libya because voters do not want another long, costly conflict along the lines of those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed in Algiers, Mussab Al-Khairall in Tripoli, Matt Robinson in Misrata, Kate Kelland in London, Andrew Hammond in Dubai and Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Matthew Jones)

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At least 21 dead in Libyan fighting

A man at a shop in Misrata, Libya, looks at photos of those killed in fighting.NEW: The deaths occurred in Dafniya and Zawiya, officials sayRebels claim a confiscated document details Gadhafi's plans for MisrataThe document was confiscated a month ago from Gadhafi forces, rebels sayThe authenticity of the "battle plan" can't be confirmed

Misrata, Libya (CNN) -- Six people died Sunday in fighting in the town of Dafniya, Libya, near the beseiged city of Misrata, according to a hospital spokesman.

The deaths include a woman who died when a Grad rocket landed in her home, said Khaled Abu Falgha of Misrata's Hekma hospital.

Elsewhere, 15 rebels and about 100 Gadhafi forces were killed Sunday in fighting in Zawiya, according to Ahmed al-Hawary, rebel spokesman in Zawiya.

Dafniya was quiet Sunday evening, said Ibrahim Beit-elmal, a spokesman for the Misrata military committee. On the southern front of Abdul Rauf, the rebels were able to capture 10 Gadhafi forces and a few vehicles after an ambush was set for them, he said.

Also Sunday, rebels in Misrata released a document they claim is a battle plan confiscated last month from forces loyal to longtime Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

CNN obtained the 15-page document -- titled, in part: "Battle plan to cleanse the city of Misrata from militant gangs" from rebels in the city Sunday. The words "top secret" is written at the top of every page. The name of Gadhafi's son, Khamis Moammar Gadhafi, appears on page 10 as commander of the theater.

CNN could not independently verify the authenticity of the document. The rebels said it was confiscated from a high-ranking official near Misrata between May 18 and May 20.

"This document was very useful but only for a short period of time because as soon as Gadhafi brigades found out that we confiscated them, they tried to change their plans," said Abdallah al-Kabeir, a rebel spokesman.

The documents says Misrata is to be "attacked from six different directions with 11,350 fighters, 4,000 of whom are organized troops, (the rest volunteers). The six directions cover the east and the south."

The "mission" is stated as: "To destroy mercenary elements and deceive youth in Misrata using nine brigades. ..."

Al-Kabeir called portions of the document "exaggerated."

"I think the number of troops and equipment mentioned in the document are definitely exaggerated because they wanted to lift their soldiers' low morale. Also, our intelligence on the ground indicated that Gadhafi forces have a lot less people than what this document says."

The Libyan government has not acknowledged the document.

About 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Tripoli, Misrata has been the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting in Libya's civil war.

Since the conflict began in early February, the death toll is believed to be more than 1,000 people in Misrata, including hundreds of civilians, Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha, a spokesman at Misrata's Hekma hospital, said earlier this month. In April, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tim Hetherington and photojournalist Chris Hondros were killed in Misrata.

The town has been under seige for months from Gadhafi's forces, who have cut off all land acesss, leaving the sea as the only escape route. On May 11, rebels said they seized the Misrata airport. Heavy shelling has been reported in Misrata in recent days as Gadhafi's forces wage a campaign to seize the town back.

CNN's Amir Ahmed and Sara Sidner contributed to this report.

CNN

Heavy fighting kills 17 in Misrata

Misrata, Libya (CNN) -- At least 31 people were killed Friday as fighting raged in the western Libyan city of Misrata, where forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi were attempting to enter from the west and south.

More than 150 others were wounded, said medical sources at the city's Hekmah Hospital.

Friday's casualties were the heaviest in a month, Dr. Khaled Abu Falgha said. Medics chanted, "The martyrs are beloved to God" every time a patient died, he said.

The rebels said Gadhafi's forces also shelled nearby Zlitan, as well as rebel positions in Dafniya. Tanks were rolling in and witnesses on the frontline said pro-Gadhafi forces were firing rockets and missiles.

"It is horrible out there," one rebel fighter said. "The revolutionaries are taking tank power in their chests."

The city was under continuous bombardment Friday afternoon.

Misrata has borne the brunt of the fighting in Libya for the past two months. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed here since early February, including 686 civilian residents.

Gadhafi's forces laid siege to Misrata and cut off land access, leaving the port as the only escape route. They retreated to the perimeters but were trying to regain control of the city, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Tripoli.

In Washington, Sen. Carl Levin emerged from a meeting of the Armed Services Committee and appeared pleased with NATO's progress.

"I am satisfied that Gadhafi's military has been severely degraded, that politically he has been significantly weakened, that the NATO operations are going well, they are coordinated and we have not lost one person yet," the Democrat from Michigan said.

The committee chairman rejected the term "stalemate" to describe the effort, which has lasted nearly three months.

But Sen. Jeff Sessions, also a member of the committee, expressed impatience over NATO's pace of progress in the northern African country.

"I'm not sure we are acting with decisive abilities that we have to impact the outcome," the Republican from Alabama said. "I felt like, had we moved aggressively, as Senator (John) Kerry (D-Massachusetts) and Senator (John) McCain (R-Arizona) suggested in the beginning, maybe the matter would be concluded by now."

In Brussels, Belgium, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates blasted NATO as a "two-tiered" alliance poorly equipped to deal with challenges.

In his farewell speech Friday to the NATO Council, he contrasted those members "willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership ... but don't want to share the risks and the costs."

Gates had harsh words for the conduct of the air campaign against Gadhafi's regime. He said it had become "painfully clear" that shortcomings could "jeopardize the alliance's ability to conduct an integrated, effective and sustained air-sea campaign."

"While every alliance member voted for the Libya mission, less than half have participated at all, and fewer than a third have been willing to participate in the strike mission," he said.

Gates concluded with a warning about American willingness to continue bearing a growing part of the NATO burden.

"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress ... to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be a serious and capable partners in their own defense," he said.

NATO members must better allocate their resources, follow through on commitments and protect defense budgets from being "further gutted" to avoid "a dismal future," Gates said.

His warning came a day after global powers charting out the course of a post-Gadhafi Libya met in the United Arab Emirates. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others urged the international community to sustain pressure on the Libyan regime. An opposition spokesman predicted Gadhafi would fall within days.

But Friday's fighting was evidence that, despite 10,439 sorties carried out by NATO jets and a fierce opposition revolt, Gadhafi was holding strong.

NATO officials have said repeatedly that airstrikes were aimed solely at military targets, but a senior NATO military official with operational knowledge of the Libya mission has told CNN that attacking Gadhafi was justified under the United Nations mandate.

The resolution applies to the Libyan leader because, as head of the military, he is part of the command-and-control structure and therefore a legitimate target, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The official was not authorized to talk to the media.

But the NATO official declined to give a direct answer when asked whether Gadhafi was being targeted.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu, however, said the alliance was not specifically targeting Gadhafi.

"We are targeting critical military capabilities that could be used to attack civilians, including command-and-control centers that could be used to plan and organize such attacks," Lungescu said.

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Fighting flares in al Qaeda-held Yemen city (Reuters)

SANAA (Reuters) – Fighting flared on Tuesday in a southern Yemen city seized by al Qaeda and other Islamist militants, killing at least 15 people, after Washington urged President Ali Abdullah Saleh to hand over power peacefully.

Saleh left for Saudi Arabia at the weekend for surgery on wounds suffered in an attack on his palace in Sanaa -- an absence that could be an opportunity to ease him out of office after nearly 33 years ruling the impoverished Arab nation.

Global powers worry that chaos would make it easier for the Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda to operate and multiply risks for neighboring Saudi Arabia and other Gulf oil producers.

"We are calling for a peaceful and orderly transition," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday, adding that this would be in the best interests of the Yemeni people.

Yemen's acting leader, Vice President Abu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, said Saleh would return within days, but the position of Saudi Arabia, which has traditionally played an influential role in Yemeni politics, could now be decisive.

Saudi officials say they will not interfere in Saleh's decision to return to Yemen or not, but Western powers may want to revive a Gulf Cooperation Council-brokered transition deal that would have secured Saleh's resignation.

"Saleh's departure is probably permanent," said Robert Powell, Yemen analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

"The Saudis, as well as the U.S. and European Union, are pushing hard for him to stay in Saudi Arabia, as they view the prospect of his return as a catastrophe.

"Prior to his departure, the country was slipping inexorably into a civil war. However, his removal has suddenly opened a diplomatic window to restart the seemingly failed GCC-mediated proposal. It seems Saudi Arabia and other interested parties are unwilling to allow Saleh to derail it this time."

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has used its Yemen base to stage daring but abortive attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United States, seized the southern city of Zinjibar about 10 days ago with other militants. The city is near a shipping lane where about 3 million barrels of oil pass daily.

Locals and Yemeni troops have stepped up fighting to retake Zinjibar, local official said. More casualties are expected in the city, once home to about 50,000 people, but now mostly a ghost town due to the battle for control.

There was also fresh fighting in the city of Taiz, south of Sanaa. A Saudi-brokered truce was holding in the capital after two weeks of fighting between Saleh's forces and tribesmen in which over 200 people were killed and thousands forced to flee.

POWER TRANSFER

Saleh, a wily political veteran, has defied global calls to accept the GCC-mediated power transition deal, backing away three times at the last minute from signing it.

Saleh, 69, was wounded on Friday when rockets struck his Sanaa palace, killing seven people and wounding senior officials and advisers in what his officials said was an assassination attempt. He is being treated in a Riyadh hospital.

The future of Yemen, riven by rivalries among tribal leaders, generals and politicians, is uncertain. Saleh's sons and relatives remain in Yemen, commanding elite military units and security agencies.

Other contenders in a possible power struggle include the well-armed Hashed tribal federation, breakaway military leaders, Islamists, leftists and an angry public seeking relief from crippling poverty, corruption and failing public services.

Youthful protesters have been celebrating Saleh's departure, but are wary of any attempt by the wily leader to return.

"In the near term, the biggest challenge is to set up a viable political reform process that has the general backing of the population, and allows Yemen to return to normal after months of unrest," the EIU's Powell said.

"In the medium term, Yemen's biggest challenge is economic -- already the poorest country in the Middle East, it is running out of oil and water, and unless it can find alternative drivers of growth an economic collapse is entirely feasible," he said.

(Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden and Alistair Lyon in London; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Alistair Lyon)

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Yemen fighting intensifies, envoy Brennan in talks (Reuters)

SANAA (Reuters) – Forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh battled with tribal fighters in Yemen's capital on Thursday in clashes that killed dozens as U.S. envoy John Brennan flew around the region to try to stop a looming civil war.

Street fighting in Sanaa which grew out of protests against Saleh's rule since January has killed at least 135 people in the past 10 days, calling into question the future of an impoverished Arab state already near economic disaster.

Heavy fighting continued late into the night, with witnessing saying security forces had fired live bullets at protesters.

State television showed live pictures of the Yemeni Airways building ablaze and blamed tribesmen for setting it on fire. Al Jazeera television said the fire started after government troops targeted the nearby home of a tribal leader.

Saleh has reneged on a deal brokered by the Gulf Arab states to secure a peaceful end to his nearly 33 years in power. President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser arrived in the region on Wednesday to reinforce the drive to oust him.

Global powers worry that chaos in Yemen, home to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and bordering the biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, would raise risks for world oil supplies.

Saleh's special forces were deployed to help "clean up" a ministry held by tribal forces, the Defense Ministry said, as battles near the airport briefly grounded flights.

Abdelqawi al-Qeysi, a spokesman for the Hashed tribal federation said: "The weapons that America gave them to fight terrorism are being used against civilians."

State television showed heavily damaged government buildings which had been taken back by government forces.

The outside world has had little leverage on events in Yemen, where tribal allegiances are the most powerful element in a volatile social fabric, analysts said.

Saudi Arabia, which has strong, longstanding ties with Yemeni tribes, is likely to try to apply another round of pressure on Saleh to step aside to avert disaster in a country of 23 million that is awash with guns.

U.S. envoy John Brennan left Saudi Arabia on Thursday for more talks on Yemen in the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. official in Saudi Arabia said. He will seek the help of the two countries' leaders to pressure Saleh to accept the exit deal.

Late on Thursday, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), whose power transition plan Saleh has refused to sign so far, said it would continue its efforts toward a peaceful solution.

"Abdulattif al-Zayani, the secretary-general of the GCC, confirms ... the GCC (continues) all efforts to help brothers in Yemen to reach a peaceful solution ending the ongoing fighting and to stop the bloodshed," a GCC statement said.

DIVIDED CAPITAL, FRACTURED COUNTRY

Yemen is engulfed in multiple conflicts, with street battles between tribal groups and Saleh's forces in Sanaa, popular unrest across the country and fighting against AQAP and other Islamist militants who seized the coastal city of Zinjibar.

On Thursday, two soldiers were killed in an ambush outside Zinjibar, a local official said, blaming the attack on militants.

One constant factor is Yemen's crippling poverty. Jobs and food are scarce, corruption is rampant and about 40 percent of the population struggles to live on less than $2 a day.

In Sanaa, pro-Saleh forces have been fighting the powerful Hashed tribal confederation led by Sadeq al-Ahmar, with mortars, machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades for nearly two weeks.

The capital is split, with Saleh loyalists holding the south against tribesmen and renegade military units in the north.

Residents said dozens were likely to have been killed in the most recent round of fighting, mostly for control of government buildings and near the compounds of Saleh's tribal foes.

Civilians have been fleeing the city in the thousands, hurriedly packing possessions into their cars.

"It felt as if the artillery shells were flying next to my head ... My wife, my daughter were screaming. It was horrible," resident Sadeq al-Lahbe said before leaving.

"There is no electricity, no water and violent strikes shaking the house. Is this life?"

Security forces raided offices used by the opposition Suhail TV and confiscated equipment, an opposition official said.

The state news agency Saba said several gunmen were arrested at the office, which it said was used to attack nearby areas in the Hasaba district, the scene of intense street clashes.

In Taiz, about 200 km (120 miles) south of Sanaa, Yemeni soldiers fired warning shots at demonstrators protesting against a government they blame for bringing Yemen to the brink of ruin.

Troops later closed off Taiz in an apparent attempt to prevent people from joining planned anti-government demonstrations on Friday, travelers said.

Four elite troops were injured, medical sources said, in an attack officials blamed on the opposition alliance.

The U.N. human rights envoy said this week her office was investigating reports that Yemeni soldiers have killed at least 50 protesters in Taiz since Sunday.

Embassies have closed, diplomats have left and a refugee crisis may develop, with civilians fleeing Zinjibar and other towns. Oman has tightened patrols on its border with Yemen.

"The key risk for the region is either a prolonged stalemate (in Yemen) or a continued deterioration into a power vacuum," said Christian Koch, director of international studies at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai.

"This would accelerate the disintegration of the military institutions, intensify tribal conflicts and divisions, heighten the threat from extremist groups like AQAP by allowing them to spread their influence and possibly plan operations, and spark further separatist tendencies," he said.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden, Khaled al-Mahdi in Taiz, Alister Bull in Washington and Sara Anabtawi, Firouz Sedarat and Nour Merza in Dubai, and Jason Benham in Riyadh; writing by Jon Herskovitz; editing by Alistair Lyon)

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'Play fighting' leads to hotel window fall

(CNN) -- One woman was killed and another injured after they fell from a 10th-floor window at an Atlanta hotel, authorities said Saturday.

According to Atlanta Police, witnesses said the two were attending a birthday party early Saturday at the W Atlanta-Midtown.

The pair were "play fighting" when they accidentally crashed through the window around 3:15 a.m., according to a preliminary investigation, said department spokesman Officer John Chafee. It was unclear Saturday where they landed.

The Fulton County medical examiner identified the woman who died at the scene as LaShawna M. Threatt of Atlanta. The cause of death is pending. The other woman, who was unidentified, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital in critical condition.

Hotel manager Michael O'Donohue said information on the investigation must come from authorities.

"The incident at the W Atlanta early Saturday is very tragic and our thoughts and prayers are with the woman who was injured and the family and friends of the woman who died in the fall," he said in a statement.

CNN's Anna M. Gonzalez contributed to this report.

CNN

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Fighting erupts in Sanaa; many hurt

Anti-government protesters call for the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa on May 23, 2011.A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the Interior MinistryMany tribal forces want the president to step downThe pact appeared to be on the verge of signing last weekend

(CNN) -- Nearly three dozen people in Yemen were wounded during clashes Tuesday between government security forces and the main tribe that opposes the country's president, eyewitnesses told CNN.

The battles erupted between fighters from the Al-Hashid tribe and security personnel in the capital of Sanaa at the residence of tribal leader Sheikh Sadeq Al-Ahmar.

It was the latest round of clashes in Yemen, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda. The country has been roiled by protests for most of the year amid anti-government demonstrations that have swept across much of the Arab world. Protesters want President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step aside after three decades of rule.

Government forces and tribal groups also clashed Monday in Sanaa.

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On Tuesday, military helicopters hovered over Al-Ahmar's house. Thousands of tribesmen were in the streets. They took over the Trade and Commerce Ministry building and attacked the Ministry of Interior in the same area where the clashes erupted, witnesses said.

A rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the Interior Ministry during the fighting, witnesses said, and state TV reported that "armed gangs" belonging to the tribe fired weapons at the ministry building.

Hamid al-Ahmar, an opposition member of parliament and one of Saleh's political enemies in Yemen, is the younger brother of Sadeq al-Ahmar, the tribal leader.

The fighting came after Persian Gulf states said on Monday that they had suspended efforts to ease the embattled president from office after he once again balked at signing a deal with opposition leaders.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, foreign ministers with the Gulf Cooperation Council said they were dropping the deal "for lack of appropriate circumstances for agreement." The council is made up of representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

Under its plan, Saleh would have ceded power to a transitional government after 30 days.

Opposition leaders signed the pact Saturday, but Saleh said he would not go along unless the opposition re-signed the agreement in a public ceremony at his presidential palace -- which was surrounded by armed, pro-government protesters.

Opposition members have long contended that Saleh had no intention of signing the agreement.

On Monday, the Council of the European Union condemnded Saleh's "repeated failure to sign up to the GCC-sponsored initiative."

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New Pentagon study finds psychological toll from years of fighting

U.S. Marines patrol the outskirts of a village near a forward operating base near Kajaki, Afghanistan, in October.Stress is higher and morale is lower in the military, report saysSoldiers on their third/fourth deployment report significantly more psychological problemsThe report also has positive findings, including increased "resilience"

Washington (CNN) -- A new report paints a stark picture of the toll on the U.S. military of almost a decade of war: higher stress and lower morale.

The report, released Thursday at the Pentagon, relied on questions to soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan in July and August of last year and compared responses with similar surveys in 2005 and 2009.

The report noted "significant decline in reports of individual morale" as well as "acute stress rates significantly higher" than in earlier years.

"Psychologically, it is hard to imagine that these elevated levels of combat are not taking a toll on soldiers. Reports of acute stress symptoms among soldiers surveyed in 2010 have significantly increased and reports of individual morale have significantly decreased relative to 2009," said the report, formally known as the Joint Mental Health Advisory Team 7.

Senior military officers regularly warn that there is a cumulative cost of multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Soldiers on their third/fourth deployment report significantly more psychological problems and use of mental health medications than soldiers on their first or second deployment," the report said in the summary of findings for the Army.

But there also are multiple positive findings, including increased "resilience" and "low levels of psychological problems under conditions of high combat and significantly higher unit cohesion and readiness."

Also, military personnel reported greater access to mental health services, as the military increased the numbers of caregivers and lowered the stigma associated with seeking help.

For Marines, the report said the rate of reporting psychological problems such as acute stress, depression or anxiety is significantly higher in 2010, with a "dramatic increase" in combat exposure.

Another theme of the report is how common it is for soldiers and Marines to be exposed to explosions, for instance from roadside bombs.

"Over 50% of the soldiers reported being dismounted and within 50 meters of a blast at least once," the report said. "This number is almost certainly an underestimate of the percent of soldiers that will experience exposure to blast in a full 12-month tour."

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Fighting rages in Misrata, Libya

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(CNN) -- Fighting battered the besieged seaside city of Misrata Tuesday as bombs -- presumably from NATO warplanes -- shook the ground after pro-government forces launched what rebel officials said was their most aggressive attack so far on the port.

Shells detonated near a refugee camp in the port area, where thousands of migrants have been housed while they await ships to carry them to safety. Witnesses said three people were killed and several were wounded.

A Misrata port security officer told CNN shelling on the wider Misrata port means that "refugees located between the steel port and the main port have been targeted."

The attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi underscored the falsity of government officials' claims that they had suspended military operations in the city.

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A CNN crew saw plumes of smoke rising from beyond the Misrata port, and another TV crew said it had seen fire in the distance "earlier."

But Misrata residents told CNN that the smoke and fire were coming from the town of Tawargha, 21 miles from the port. The residents added that Gadhafi troops were positioned in the area of Tawargha.

Jean Michel Monod, who heads the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Tripoli, said a ship that was in Misrata to pick up foreigners departed earlier than anticipated in the morning because shelling was close to the port.

He said the ICRC would have liked to take on a few more than the approximately 630 people whom it did take.

Street fighting and confrontations between pro- and anti-government forces erupted in Misrata's suburbs and pro-Gadhafi forces struck the city from miles away, a witness said.

However, the witness said, the city center was calm. There was no street-to-street fighting in the urban cauldron and Tripoli Street, the city's main boulevard, was clear, the witness said.

Misrata has been the scene of deadly battles as rebels have sought to oust Gadhafi, who has been in power for more than four decades.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the battle for the city, which has been under siege by Gadhafi's forces for seven weeks. The city's population of about 450,000 makes it the country's third-largest.

"As fighting continues to rage in Misrata, the families recently evacuated by boats to Tobruk from the embattled city describe a catastrophic situation with many having lived in fear of indiscriminate shelling," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said Tuesday. "Many houses and buildings have been destroyed and some families had to move several times."

The U.N. refugee agency said parts of the city have lacked electricity and water and people have been hiding in their homes for two months "before seizing the opportunity of a lull in fighting to get to the harbor and board a boat."

"Sniper fire, street clashes and shelling have prevented people from venturing outside of their homes to get food and medicine," the agency said.

"In some neighborhoods in Misrata, pregnant women gave birth in their homes as it would have been too dangerous to make the trip to the hospital."

The agency also said that, in recent weeks, some 30,000 Libyan civilians have fled their homes in the western mountain region for Tunisia.

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon credited NATO's actions with having saved many lives. "It's also clear that the Libyan regime has lost both legitimacy and credibility, particularly in terms of protecting its people and addressing its legitimate aspirations for change," Ban told reporters. "The Libyan people want to determine their own political future; they must be given the chance to do so."

He said diplomatic efforts focused on securing a cease-fire and achieving a political solution, and said his special envoy will return Friday to Benghazi.

NATO is leading an international military operation in Libya that includes air-strikes targeting Gadhafi's military resources. It is operating under a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing all means necessary to protect civilians.

State-run Libyan TV reported that "Libya officially calls on Russia to ask for an extraordinary session by the Security Council to discuss the continuation of the crusader colonial aggression in bombing Libyan civilian locations and its attempt to target the leader Moammar Gadhafi ... violating the two council's resolutions and the international conventions and laws."

In Copenhagen, Denmark, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin criticized the Western coalition.

He said that, at its inception, the coalition didn't want to kill Gadhafi, but some officials have since acknowledged that he is a target.

"At first, they spoke about the need to close the air space. All right, but how does that correspond with bombings of Gadhafi's palaces every night?" he asked. "They say they don't want to eliminate him. But why are they bombing his palaces then?"

He also said he dislikes the relentless pounding of a small country and the destruction of its infrastructure.

"Initially there was talk about imposing a no-fly zone. But now we're seeing the country's entire infrastructure being destroyed, and one of the warring sides is now advancing, protected from air. This can go on and on forever," said Putin.

"I think that we should act within the framework of international law, understanding our responsibility and with care towards the civilian population."

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor reiterated Tuesday that NATO's mission is to enforce "the arms embargo, no-fly zone and conduct a civilian protection mission," but it's not regime change.

"As part of that mission, the coalition has targeted command-and-control sites that are being used by regime forces to wage attacks against Libyan civilians -- brutal attacks that this week alone have reportedly killed dozens of civilians in Misrata alone. In fact, the degradation of those sites is part of the reason the opposition has had increased success in pushing Gadhafi's forces out of Misrata in recent days. There is no change in U.S. policy regarding assassination."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, briefing the House of Commons on NATO's operation in Libya, said "the case for action remains compelling" and that Gadhafi has shown "he has no regard for civilian lives."

"By his actions it is clear that Gadhafi has no intention of observing the conditions in Security Council Resolution 1973 that I described to the House earlier this month," Hague said. "He has repeatedly ignored the cease-fires that he himself has announced. Our military action is defined by the U.N. Security Council resolutions. We are also clear that Gadhafi should go and it is impossible to see a viable or peaceful way forward for Libya until he does so."

Hague said diplomatic, economic and military pressure against the Gadhafi regime has been successful. He said military action has "seriously degraded" Gadhafi forces and they remain unable to enter Benghazi, where the opposition is based.

CNN's Raja Razek, Reza Sayah, Saad Abedine and Joe Sterling contributed to this report.

CNN

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4 ways we're still fighting the Civil War

STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe United States marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil WarAmericans still argue over many issues that led to war, scholars sayScholar: "There are all of these weird parallels"Southern historian: Confederate leaders are American heroes CNN -- He stood 5-foot-8 and weighed 145 pounds. His face was gaunt and sunburned. Ticks, fleas and lice covered his body.

Before battle, his lips would quiver and his body went numb. When the shooting started, some of his comrades burst into maniacal laughter. Others bit the throat and ears of their enemy. And some were shattered by shells so powerful that tufts of their hair stuck to rocks and trees.

Take a tour of a Civil War battlefield today, and it's difficult to connect the terrifying experience of an average Civil War soldier -- described above from various historical accounts -- with the tranquil historic sites where we now snap pictures today.

But you don't have to tour a battlefield to understand the Civil War. Look at today's headlines. As the nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of its deadliest war this week, some historians say we're still fighting over some of the same issues that fueled the Civil War.

"There are all of these weird parallels," says Stephanie McCurry, author of "Confederate Reckoning," a new book that examines why Southerners seceded and its effect on Southern women and slaves.

"When you hear charges today that the federal government is overreaching, and the idea that the Constitution recognized us as a league of sovereign states -- these were all part of the secessionist charges in 1860," she says.

"Living history" on Civil War battlefields

These "weird parallels" go beyond the familiar debates over what caused the war, slavery or states' rights. They extend to issues that seem to have nothing to do with the Civil War.

The shutdown of the federal government, war in Libya, the furor over the new health care law and Guantanamo Bay -- all have tentacles that reach back to the Civil War, historians say.

They point to four parallels:

The disappearance of the political center

If you think the culture wars are heated now, check out mid-19th century America. The Civil War took place during a period of pervasive piety when both North and South demonized one another with self-righteous, biblical language, one historian says.

One of the biggest debates during the Civil War was how far should governments go in dictating our lives. We still debate those politics.
--William Blair, Civil War historian The war erupted not long after the "Second Great Awakening" sparked a national religious revival. Reform movements spread across the country. Thousands of Americans repented of their sins at frontier campfire meetings and readied themselves for the Second Coming.

They got war instead. Their moral certitude helped make it happen, says David Goldfield, author of "America Aflame," a new book that examines evangelical Christianity's impact on the war.

Goldfield says evangelical Christianity "poisoned the political process" because the American system of government depends on compromise and moderation, and evangelical religion abhors both because "how do you compromise with sin."

"By transforming political issues into moral causes, you raise the stakes of the conflict and you tend to demonize your opponents," Goldfield says.

Contemporary political rhetoric is filled with similar rhetoric. Opponents aren't just wrong -- they're sinners, Goldfield says.

"The erosion of the center in contemporary American politics is the most striking parallel between today and the time just before the Civil War," Goldfield says.

In the lead-up to the war, political campaigns were filled with religious fervor. Political parties paraded their piety and labeled opponents infidels.

"Today's government gridlock results, in part, from this religious mind set that many issues can be divided into good and evil and sin and salvation," he says.

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