SANAA: At least eight people were killed in Yemen's capital Sanaa in overnight clashes between government forces and fighters allied with activists demanding President Ali Addullah Saleh resign, witnesses said on Monday.
Witnesses said six civilians were among those killed in the fighting between government troops on one side, and fighters loyal to tribal leader Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar on the other. Ahmar's fighters are backed by a breakaway army unit led by a general from the same tribe, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.
A shell killed three people when it landed near a field hospital set up at "Change Square," where thousands of protesters have camped for months demanding Saleh step down, witnesses said.
Violence in Yemen has surged since Saturday as UN Security Council members consider a resolution that "strongly condemns" the government's human rights violations and urges Saleh to "immediately sign and implement" a peace plan hammered out by neighboring Gulf states that requires him to step down.
Saleh, who has ruled the country for 33 years, has remained in office despite 10 months of mass protests against his rule inspired by demonstrations across the Arab world. Opposition to him has turned increasingly violent and organised, threatening to plunge the country into all-out civil war.
Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, also faces tribal conflict, violence from a strong regional al Qaeda wing, separatism in the south and sectarian conflict in the north.
Saleh, who says he is ready to step down but wants to ensure that control of the country is put in safe hands, has said he is relying on support from Russia and China to stop moves to force him to step down.
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