Fresh blasts hit Yemeni capital

A series of powerful explosions and gunfire has rattled the capital of Yemen, as a truce between opposition tribesmen and regime forces is on the verge of collapse.

Several explosions were heard on Sunday in the al-Hasaba district in the capital Sana’a where the Hashed tribe has been fighting government forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Reuters reported.

Elsewhere, tribesmen and forces loyal to the government clashed with each other in the Arhab region, north of the capital, posing a serious setback to a ceasefire between Yemeni forces loyal to the 65-year-old president and the opposition tribesmen, which came into effect on Sunday.

Yemeni police shot dead four anti-regime revolutionaries and wounded dozens more in the second largest city of Taizz, south of Sana’a, according to medics.

In another development, five people were killed in an exchange of artillery fire between regime forces and suspected militants in the southern province of Abyan.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s revolutionaries said forces loyal to embattled President Saleh lost control of five provinces, including Mareb and Saa’da. The opposition also stated that Saleh’s forces have lost most parts of the capital and the city of Taizz.

Last week, the embattled president refused to sign for the third time a deal brokered by the [Persian] Gulf Co-operation Council ([P]GCC), which called on Saleh to relinquish power in 30 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution. The first deal was offered back in March.

On May 22, the [P]GCC announced it was suspending the transition deal after Saleh refused to sign the deal, which was aimed at pulling the country out of its political deadlock.

Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in Yemen’s major cities since late January, calling for an end to corruption and unemployment and demanding the ouster of Saleh, who has been in office since 1978.