Affrontements à Taez – 15 juillet 2011

Clashes, Some Deadly, Intensify in a Tumultuous City in Central Yemen

nytimes.com

By NASSER ARRABYEE and LAURA KASINOF

: July 15, 2011

SANA, Yemen — Fighting between security forces and armed opposition tribesmen intensified on Friday in the city of Taiz. At least seven people were killed, including a high-ranking security official, in yet another sign of the breakdown in stability that has been pushing Yemen to the brink of chaos.

Just north of Taiz, which is in central Yemen, tribesmen attacked a police car on Friday afternoon, killing the head of security in the nearby Sharab district, according to a government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. Residents and a local journalist said that at least two other police officers were killed in the attack.

In the center of Taiz, security forces used heavy artillery, including shelling and mortar attacks, against a neighborhood, Masbah, that is home to a powerful opposition military commander, Brig. Gen. Sadeq Sarhan. Four people were killed, including one of General Sarhan’s sons, according to a local doctor and residents.

Taiz, which has what is widely regarded as the country’s most educated population, is a place where opposition political parties enjoy much support.

While Sana, the capital, has been relatively calm in recent weeks, Taiz has been gripped in conflict since late May, when fighting broke out between the security forces and tribesmen, who say they are protecting antigovernment protesters. Residents say that the government’s forces have been shelling the city intermittently and that gun battles take place almost daily between the soldiers and tribesmen.

“Taiz city is divided into two halves between the government and the protesters,” said Hamood Aqlan, a doctor in Taiz who lives in a neighborhood that is frequently shelled because a prominent opposition tribal leader lives there. Read more…

Nasser Arrabyee reported from Sana, and Laura Kasinof from Washington. Yasser Alarami contributed reporting.