SANAA, Sep 06, 2011 (AFP) - Fierce clashes erupted in Yemen's second city Taez overnight between troops and tribesmen siding with protesters who are demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster, tribal sources said Tuesday.
Tribal gunmen attacked a checkpoint set up by the Republican Guard on Siteen Street in northern Taez, a focal point of the protest movement against Saleh, the sources said.
The elite troops, led by Saleh's son Ahmed, retaliated with heavy shelling of villages in Al-Humayra, north of Taez, the sources said, adding no casualties were reported.
Taez has been the scene for sporadic clashes between government troops and forces deployed since June by influential tribal leaders to protect pro-democracy protesters from attacks by Saleh loyalists.
A truce had been reached last month, after a previous ceasefire reached at the end of June collapsed in early August as clashes renewed, resulting in several deaths on both sides.
Saleh is recovering in the Saudi capital from bomb blast wounds sustained in an attack on his Sanaa compound on June 3. He has vowed to return soon to Yemen despite the protests against his rule since late January.
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