THE PRESIDENT OF Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has been injured after the presidential palace was shelled this afternoon.
Earlier reports from opposition sources indicated that Saleh had been killed in the attack but multiple news agencies are now reporting that he is alive but was injured in the attack.
A government official told AP that the Yememi president was lightly injured and four top officials wounded when opposition tribesmen struck his palace with rockets.
It was the first time that tribesmen have targeted Saleh’s palace in nearly two weeks of heavy fighting with government troops in the capital.
The official says the rockets hit while officials were praying at a mosque inside the palace compound.
He says Saleh, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the parliament chief and a presidential aide were wounded — Saleh lightly, while the deputy prime minister and aide’s wounds were serious.
Tens of thousands of Yemenis held a mass funeral Friday for 50 people killed in regime-sponsored violence in the capital. Heavy shelling expanded into new sections of the city.
Soon after Friday prayers, witnesses said heavy shelling rocked the commercial neighborhood of Hadda in southern Sanaa. Residents fled to basements for cover.
One witness said the target appeared to be the home of a tribal notable and brother of the tribal leader whose forces have been in a confrontation with by forces loyal to Saleh for two-weeks.
Al Jazeera has broadcast images and witness accounts of some of the latest violence in the capital:
In the south, activist Bushra al-Muktari said security forces opened fire on protesters in the city of Taiz.
She said two protesters were injured. She reported scattered small rallies across the city after their main protest camp was broken up violently this week.
The city was locked down, and travelers barred from entering the city. Mohammed al-Said said he and his family escaped the violence in Sanaa to Taiz, only to be left waiting on the outskirts of the city since daybreak.
For months, youth-led protesters have sought to peacefully oust Saleh, but their campaign has been overtaken and transformed into an armed showdown between Yemen’s two most powerful families, the president’s and the al-Ahmar clan.
The al-Ahmar family heads the country’s strongest tribal confederation, which has vowed to end Saleh’s 33 years in power.
- with reporting from AP
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