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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Analysts warn that Yemen may be sliding toward a full-blown civil warAt least 28 people die in a blast that an official blames on a rebel tribe51 people are killed in overnight clashes, the anti-government al-Hashid tribe saysYemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh backed out of a deal to step down
(CNN) ? At least 28 people were killed in an explosion at a weapons storage site in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, a senior defense ministry official said, as one of the country?s leading tribes fought street battles against government security forces.
The official blamed the blast on the al-Hashid tribe, saying it had bombed the area with heavy artillery. The official asked not to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the news media.
The tribe rejected the accusation, saying it is cautious in choosing targets and denying it had attacked any civilians.
Government forces hit an opposition-controlled television station with rocket-propelled grenades overnight, taking it off the air, witnesses in the Arab nation told CNN Thursday.
The assault came as dozens were killed in street battles between government forces and members of the al-Hashid tribe, which has turned against President Ali Abdullah Saleh as he tries to cling to power in the face of protests.
The attorney general has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the tribe, Sadeq Al-Ahmar, his office said in a statement Thursday.
A top aide to al-Ahmar dismissed the move.
?Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar is a hero in the eyes of Yemenis and Saleh is the criminal. Saleh will face the fate of previous criminal leaders like (Egypt?s Hosni) Mubarak,? Abdulqawi al-Qaisi said.
??The Yemeni government (is) not able to capture a chicken in the streets, let alone the most powerful tribal leader in Yemen,? he added.
Al-Qaisi said 51 people were killed in the overnight clashes, including tribesmen and civilians.
Government-run television reported Thursday that four people were killed and 11 were injured by a shell fired by tribe members.
Clashes appeared to be continuing Thursday ? an indication according to some analysts that Yemen may be sliding toward full-blown civil war.
?We?ve seen the last (Middle East) dictator leave voluntarily,? said Michael Rubin, a regional expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank. ?Libya is the new model for Yemen, Syria, and any other hangers-on.?
Western leaders have been pushing more peaceful change in the Arab world, similar to what happened in Egypt and Tunisia.
Part of the problem, Rubin told CNN, is that other Middle East dictators have seen the fate of Mubarak ? who is now facing trial and a possible death penalty ? and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who is facing an onslaught from NATO air forces.
They ?see there is no possibility of a peaceful retirement,? Rubin said. Many of them also ?believe that their country is their personal fight.?
?In the United States, the government is accountable to the people,? Rubin added. ?Middle Eastern dictators believe that the people should be accountable to them.?
On Sunday, Saleh backed out of a deal to step aside in the face of months of protests against his 33-year rule. Opposition leaders had already signed the document, brokered by the regional Gulf Cooperation Council, but Saleh insisted that they sign it again in his presence.
The United States ordered families of government employees to leave the country, along with ?certain nonemergency personnel,? citing ?terrorist activities and civil unrest.?
The travel warning follows Wednesday?s clashes between tribesmen and government forces near Sanaa International Airport.
All arriving flights were diverted to Aden Wednesday, and no flights were taking off from Sanaa, said a transportation official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The flight restrictions were imposed as anti-regime tribesmen battling Yemeni forces occupied the government?s news agency compound and the tourism ministry in the capital Wednesday, the latest regime entities to be taken over during this week?s street battles, witnesses said.
Hundreds of al-Hashid tribesman occupied and surrounded the SABA news agency compound and the tourism building in Sanaa after fighting with government forces in the Hasabah neighborhood.
Other ministry buildings in Hasabah also have been seized. They are the Interior, Trade and Commerce, the Education and the Local Administration headquarters. These and other government buildings in Hasabah were evacuated Tuesday night by the Interior Ministry as fighting raged.
Yemeni state-run television said supporters loyal to the al-Hashid tribe were shelling government facilities.
The fighting broke out after a regionally brokered deal calling for Saleh to leave office fell through. Saleh himself is a member of the al-Hashid tribe, a huge and powerful entity with many strands.
After a march Friday, during which dozens of anti-government demonstrators were killed, al-Ahmar, the leader of the main opposition al-Hashid tribe, embraced the anti-government demonstrators and broke ranks with the president. Since then, more and more tribal members have turned their backs on the president as well.
The violence has attracted international attention.
?We expressed our joint concern on the deteriorating situation on the ground,? U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters Wednesday in England with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed fears that the battles might further destabilize the situation and called for ?an immediate end to the fighting? and the continuation of efforts to resolve the country?s political crisis.
Saleh?s office called media outlets, including Yemen TV, and issued statements from Saleh defending himself.
?We will not give in and will fight those who threaten security and stability in the country,? Saleh said.
Similar clashes Tuesday killed as many as 41 people ? with both sides claiming casualties. Al-Ahmar said 17 men from the al-Hashid tribe were killed in those clashes. The government said 14 soldiers and 10 civilians were killed.
Yemen, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda, has been roiled by protests for most of the year amid growing calls for Saleh to step down after three decades of rule.
America?s main concern regarding Yemen is that the country could become an al Qaeda stronghold if Saleh falls, Rubin said.
But, Rubin warned, U.S. policymakers also ?have to recognize that al Qaeda rose under Saleh.?
?Keeping him in doesn?t keep al Qaeda out,? Rubin said.
CNN?s Mohammed Jamjoom and Alan Silverleib, and Journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.
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Source: http://24worldnews.net/world-news/defense-official-dozens-killed-in-yemen-blast/
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