SANAA: At least 42 people have been killed in 10 days of clashes in Yemen between Sunni Islamists and Shia rebels, tribal sources and an official said yesterday.
Tension is mounting with national reconciliation talks, begun after the ouster of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh last year, set to conclude this month.
There have been days of clashes between gunmen loyal to tribal chief Hamid Al Ahmar — a leader of the Sunni Islah party, and Shia Huthi rebels in Amran province north of the capital, several sources said.
More than 30 people have been killed in the past 10 days in fighting in Osaymat and Ozur, a tribal chief said of two areas named after the Sunni and Shiite tribes who live there.
At least 12 others were killed in firefights between Huthis and Sunni Islamists in the Rudma region near Ibb, a local official said.
The Huthis’ Ansaruallah website accused Ahmar and his Islah party of sending scores of gunmen to Amran and Ibb.
Meanwhile, two bombs exploded yesterday in Sanaa.
They targeted two buses carrying members of the air force and the military academy, a security official was quoted by the official Saba news agency as saying.
One bomb exploded on Airport Road and the other on Al Nasr Street in eastern Sanaa, the official said.
Southern separatists yesterday returned to the talks after staging a walkout last month over various demands.
AFP
