& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Civil war looms in Yemen

Fighting rages in capital for the fifth day

AFP, Sanaa
Street battles raged yesterday between rival troops as well as between warring tribesmen, as violence which has already killed dozens spread across Yemen's capital, raising the spectre of civil war.
The gunbattles come after efforts to implement a Gulf-sponsored peace deal failed due to what its sponsors said were the soaring tensions between troops loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and opponents of his regime.
At least four civilians were killed when they were caught in the crossfire of the fighting that broke out early yesterday between Republican Guard troops commanded by Saleh's son Ahmed, and dissidents loyal to General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, witnesses and medics said.
They said two women and a man were shot by snipers positioned on rooftops near and overlooking Change Square, the base of the anti-government protesters.
Another man died from wounds sustained when a mortar shell smashed into the square. Nine people were also wounded in the blast and several tents set up by protesters caught fire, according to witnesses.
yesterday's deaths bring the toll in the
capital to 89 since Sunday.
Fighting erupted later yesterday in Sanaa's northern Al-Hasaba district, when gunmen loyal to powerful dissident tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar traded fire with followers of Saghir bin Aziz, a tribesman loyal to Saleh, witnesses said.
There was no indication of casualties from that fighting, which an AFP correspondent said was rapidly spreading to other neighbourhoods.
"The city is empty. Schools, banks and businesses are shut as the ghost of war looms over Sanaa, "one resident told AFP.
The soaring levels of violence have raised long standing fears that Yemen, which is facing a Shiite rebellion in the north and the growing influence of al-Qaeda in the south, is slipping towards full blown civil war.
Speaking to AFP late Wednesday, United Nations envoy Jamal Benomar said the deteriorating security situation, and the reluctance of both sides to reach a political resolution, raises "the risk of civil warbreaking out."
The latest wave of fighting broke out on Sunday when swarms of protesters marching from Change Square towards the city centre in a bid to extend their sit-in came under fire from Saleh's forces.