There have been a series of school fires in the country in recent years, many of them which have turned out to be arson
africa10 hours ago
SANAA/ADEN - Yemen’s government signed a ceasefire with a dissident general on Tuesday to try to end weeks of escalating bloodshed, but explosions and gunfire could still be heard in the north of the capital.
A government official said the deal between President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government and breakaway General Ali Mohsen would take effect at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Tuesday, but residents of the Hasaba and Sofan neighbourhoods in Sanaa said they heard explosions after that time.
After months of protests against Saleh’s 33-year rule, a standoff between Saleh and an opposition of protesters, tribesmen and renegade soldiers tipped last month into bloody street fighting. Previous truce accords have failed to hold.
Earlier on Tuesday, security forces opened fire on a protest march in the capital Sanaa, killing two people, witnesses said. An opposition source said a third person was killed in shelling by Saleh’s troops in the Sofan district.
In separate fighting between state forces and opposition fighters in the city of Taiz on Tuesday, eight civilians, including a child, were killed and more than 30 wounded, an opposition source said. The government said three members of its security forces were killed there.
Under the ceasefire deal mediated by a local committee, both sides agreed to dismantle armed checkpoints set up across the capital and release all those kidnapped during months of anti-government protests.
Saleh has defied months of demonstrations inspired by protests across the Arab world and refused to carry out a plan brokered by neighbouring Gulf states to step down. The United States and Saudi Arabia fear the upheaval is giving al Qaeda’s local wing more room to operate in the poorest Arab country.
The truce agreement came four days after a United Nations Security Council resolution condemned violence in Yemen and urged Saleh to sign the Gulf initiative to hand over power. Violence has not abated.
Saleh welcomed the Security Council resolution on Monday. He has backed out of the Gulf initiative at the last minute three times and says he will transfer power only to “safe hands”.
A Yemeni military plane crash-landed at an air base in Lahej province in the south, killing nine passengers, including eight Syrian engineers and one Yemeni engineer, according to doctors and army officials. A security official said a technical fault was probably to blame for the crash of the Russian-made Antonov plane, and the incident would be investigated.
Lahej borders Abyan province, where the Yemeni army is fighting to regain control of territory seized by suspected al Qaeda militants, who have benefited from political upheaval and weak central government control over parts of the country.
Late on Monday, an Uzbek doctor was abducted in the northern province and tribal stronghold of Maarib. A tribal source said the doctor had been kidnapped by tribesmen to put pressure on the government to release some jailed comrades.
There have been a series of school fires in the country in recent years, many of them which have turned out to be arson
africa10 hours ago
Salama Alfalacy is into realistic art featuring landscapes and wildlife, while Meera Jamal Al Midfa is setting new grounds in performance art and filmmaking
arts11 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
transport11 hours ago
The storm had already claimed the lives of at least two people in China's Hainan and 16 people in the Philippines
asia12 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
transport12 hours ago
The former all-rounder has returned to cricket during the past year after a horrific car crash at the end of 2022
cricket13 hours ago
Dubai Police have asked drivers to be extra cautious
emergencies13 hours ago
The country has set a new Guinness World Record by creating the largest falcon hood, beating the previous record of 1.65 metres
uae14 hours ago