A Yemeni security official says tribesmen have attacked newly
established positions of government troops near the country's second
largest city, setting off clashes that killed four soldiers and a
civilian.
The official says Saturday's fighting began when
tribesmen spotted Republican Guards deploying near Taiz, a hotbed of
popular protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Saleh is in Saudi Arabia for treatment of serious wounds sustained after an attack on his presidential compound last month.
The
official says four soldiers and a civilian were killed in heavy
clashes. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to brief reporters. Witnesses say government troops fired
shells, destroying six homes.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
SANAA,
Yemen (AP) — About 50 Yemeni soldiers are missing after battling
Islamic militants in the south of the country, a military official said
Saturday.
The soldiers have been missing since Thursday,
following fierce clashes with the al-Qaida-linked group Ansar al-Sharia
in the southern city of Zinjibar, said the official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to
reporters. On Thursday, 15 soldiers and eight Islamic militants were
killed in fighting in Zinjibar, the official said.
He said he had no further information on the fate of the missing soldiers.
Elsewhere
in Yemen, gunmen blew up an unused oil pipeline in the central province
of Marib, the latest in a series of attacks on the same target in
recent weeks, officials said Saturday. The attack occurred Thursday,
they said.
Yemeni authorities stopped producing oil in May because of repeated attacks and labor unrest.
Yemen's
growing turmoil, including the government's battle against al-Qaida's
most dangerous wing in the south of the country, come at a time when
the weakened regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh faces an array of
opponents. Government forces do not appear to have the will to fight
the Islamists, raising fears that al-Qaida is making significant gains.
Recent
advances made by the militants in the increasingly lawless south are a
clear attempt to exploit the power vacuum and turmoil caused by a
popular uprising against Saleh
that began in February. The revolt gained momentum when a coterie of
the president's close aides, military commanders and Cabinet ministers
joined the protesters.
Government troops and warplanes have so far targeted only two southern cities, Zinjibar and Jaar, in Abyan province.
Yemen's
president, meanwhile, remains in Saudi Arabia, where he is being
treated for injuries sustained in a June 3 attack on his palace in the
Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Saleh suffered serious burns and other wounds.
Yemeni
officials said Saturday that after undergoing two surgeries, Saleh
remains bedridden and has trouble breathing and talking. Only relatives
and his top adviser are allowed to visit him, one official said.
Earlier
this week, a Yemeni TV network sent a crew to the Saudi capital to
record an audio message from Saleh to the Yemeni people, but
authorities prevented them from entering the hospital, a Yemeni
official in Riyadh said.
"They were only allowed to film the
hospital from outside," the official said, citing an example of the
Saudi restrictions on Saleh's visitors.
Over the past week,
Yemeni ruling party officials in Sanaa have suggested Saleh may deliver
an audio message on state TV to assure his people. However, a week
passed without word from Saleh.
"If he (Saleh) delivered a speech
through an audio message, people would not believe it is him because
they will not recognize his voice," said another official, adding that
Saleh's voice box was harmed.
All three officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.
The
president has not been seen in public since the attack. On June 5,
hours before he flew to Saudi Arabia, he aired a brief audio message,
blaming an "armed gang of outlaws" for the attack on his palace.
Saudi
Arabia has been pressing Saleh to step down within 30 days and hand
power to his vice president, in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
A national unity government would run the country until elections are
held, according to the deal brokered by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation
Council.
The United States, in favor of peaceful power transfer,
fears that al-Qaida's branch in Yemen could further exploit Yemen's
turmoil to strengthen its presence there. Al-Qaida-linked groups have
already used Yemen as a base for plotting two attempted anti-U.S.
attacks. AP
