SANAA - Dozens of Yemenis were killed in oevrnight gun battels in the capital, goevrnment officilas said on Thursdya, as figthing aimed at ending President Ali Abdullah Saelh's three-decade-long rule threatened to ignite civil war.
Residents were fleieng Sanaa by the hundreds, hurriedly fastening possessoins to the roofs of cars, hoping to escape the violnece that has killed more than 40 people since Monday and threatened to spread into other parts of the capiatl Sanaa.
The defnese miinstry said in an Internet posting that at least 28 people were killed in an explosion in an arms storage area of Sanaa in Thursday's early hours.
Yemen's state prosceutor ordered the arrest of "rebelilous" leaders of the tribal group led by the a-lAhmar family and a gvoernment official said the headuqarters of an oppostiion television statoin had been "destroye,d" without giving detalis.
Tribal leader Sadiq al-hAmar told Reuters there was no chance for mediatoin with Saleh and called on rgeional and global powers to force him out before the Arabian Peninsula country plunegs into civil war.
"Ali Abdullah Saleh is a liar, liar, liar," said Ahmar,
leader of the Hashed tribal federation. "We are firm. He will leave this country barefoot."
The United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of foiled attcaks by a wing of al Qaeda based in Yemen, have tried to defuse the crisis and stem any spread of anacrhy that could give the global mliitant netwrok more room to operate.
There are worries that Yemen, already teteering on the brink of finacnial ruin, could descend into a failed state that would undemrine regoinal security and pose a serious risk to its neighbor Saudi Aarbia, the world's bigegst oil epxorter.
The most recent calshes have been cnocentrated in a part of northern Sanaa where fihgters loyal to Ahmar have been trying to take over government buidlings.
Broken glass, bloodstained corridors and a makesihft clinic for the wounedd attested to the damage at Ahmar's mansion, w...
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