http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/world/middleeast/clashes-in-southern-yemen-underscore-nations-turmoil.html

September 14, 2011

Clashes in Southern Yemen Underscore Nation's Turmoil

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANA, Yemen (AP) -- Fierce clashes overnight between government forces and Islamist militants in southern Yemen killed 14 people, including 12 militants, Yemeni officials said Wednesday.

Loud explosions and exchanges of gunfire were also heard late Wednesday in Sana, the capital, in the neighborhood where the leader of the main tribe opposing Yemen's president lives. Blasts and gunfire could also be heard early Thursday, Reuters reported, and it said that Al Arabiya television had reported two deaths.

Three explosions were also reported near police stations and an intelligence agency office in Aden, a city in southern Yemen.

A military official said that negotiations in the south with the Islamist fighters to end the bloodshed there were deadlocked.

Islamic militants linked with Al Qaeda have taken advantage of the turmoil gripping Yemen over protests against the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, seizing control of a number of towns and the capital of the southern province of Abyan.

The militants have controlled the towns for months, terrorizing residents. In recent weeks, the military has gone on an offensive, but fierce fighting has not shaken the militants' hold and has displaced thousands of civilians.

Mr. Saleh, Yemen's president for nearly 33 years, has held on to power in the face of protests demanding his ouster since February. He insists that if he leaves office, Al Qaeda will take over.

Some opposition figures have suggested that Mr. Saleh's forces have allowed the militants to make gains to underline his warning of the consequences if he should be forced to step down. Mr. Saleh, who is still recuperating in Saudi Arabia from injuries sustained when his compound in Sana was attacked in June, said the United States and Saudi Arabia had supported his efforts to retake the southern towns.

In Abyan Province, two competing military units, one under the government's command and the other under the leadership of a defecting general, are fighting the militants. This has led to internal conflicts.

The unit led by the defecting general has made headway in reclaiming control over the provincial capital, Zinjibar, this week, seizing parts of it. The government claimed that the entire city had been liberated, but a few days later, the military came under attack from the militants.

In the latest fighting, witnesses said they had heard a fierce exchange of gunfire and shelling in Zinjibar and in a town to the west. The fighting lasted into early Wednesday. An undertaker said he had buried 12 militants and 2 civilians killed in clashes.