Yemeni republican guard attacks defected soldiers, 3 killed

Forces of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's Republican Guard attacked pro-protest defected military unit stationed at the western edge of the capital Sanaa on Friday, killing three soldiers, including two Republican troopers, a key opposition media outlet reported.

Alsahwa-yemen.net said "a brigade of 200 Republican Guards forces launched the attack on a barracks run by defected General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar midday Friday in an apparent attempt to seize control over it."

The attack left one soldier of al-Ahmar and two of the Republican Guards died and several others from both sides injured, alsahwa said, citing local sources as saying.

It said the attack took place a few hours after President Saleh delivered his speech before crowds of his supporters in Sanaa, in which he warned that the army will be forced to take arms to restore stability and defend the country's interests against saboteurs of the opposition.

Saleh also openly defied the opposition threats of marching toward the presidential palace to force him out of power. "We will confront challenges of the opposition with challenges," Saleh told tens of thousands of his supporters gathering near Saleh's presidential palace in Sanaa after midday prayer.

Commander Gen. al-Ahmar along with his troops of the first Armored Division, which stationed along the north-west provinces, defected from Saleh's regime and joined opposition-led street protests in March.

The impoverished Arab country has been rattled by three-month long protests demanding immediate end to Saleh's 33-year rule, undermining the security and economic situations.

The fresh clashes between the two rival forces seems to be a clear sign that the country could slide towards civil war, especially after tensions soared following Saleh's speech on Friday, in which he accused the opposition of plotting a coup by storming a number of government buildings in southern provinces of Taiz, Ibb and Al-Bayda on Wednesday.

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