Yemen street battles spread to new areas

A wounded tribesman is carried into a makeshift clinic outside Sanaa University during clashes with government forces Government forces and tribal fighters exchanged gun and artillery fire in Yemen\'s capital Wednesday, sending the crackle of gunfire and resounding booms over the city in fresh fighting that killed at least 40 people .
The fighting spread to new areas, with tribesmen from the powerful Hashid confederation seizing buildings in neighbourhoods in the city\'s south and northwest.
Fighting in Sanaa raged until 5am, and witnesses said units of the elite Presidential Guard, commanded by one of President Ali Abdullah Saleh\'s sons, shelled the headquarters of an army brigade responsible for guarding sensitive government institutions.
Army officers who have defected to the opposition said the government suspected the brigade commander was about to join forces with the movement to oust Saleh.
Opposition army officers said the armoured brigade commander, Brigadier-General Mohammad Khalil, was neutral and without political affiliation but had apparently angered Saleh.
A resident who lives close to the fighting and would only give his first name, Zaher, said columns of smoke and fire billowed from Khalil\'s brigade headquarters and explosions could be heard.
The 40 dead included combatants from both sides of the conflict, said medical officials.
The fighting has engulfed the northern Hassaba neighbourhood, where tribal fighters have seized a number of government ministries and buildings. Government artillery fire has heavily damaged the house of Shaikh Sadiq Al Ahmar, head of the Hashid coalition, and the government has cut the area\'s electricity and water supplies.
The units, led by one of Saleh\'s sons, and special forces wearing uniforms of government security troops attacked, but failed to recapture the Hassaba administrative building from tribal gunmen.
Al Ahmar fighters also seized the office of the General Prosecutor in the city\'s northwest.
from gulfnews .