Gunbattle in Yemen as transition deal collapses

Yemeni loyalist forces fought a gunbattle on Monday with opponents of entrenched President Ali Abdullah Saleh one day after he backed out of an accord for him to step down. The clashes in Sanaa cast further dimmed prospects for a political solution to a three-month crisis in which youth-led demonstrators, inspired by protests that swept aside the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia, are demanding an end to nearly 33 years of Saleh rule.
The United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of foiled attacks by a strong wing of al Qaeda based in Yemen, are keen to end the Yemeni stalemate and avert a spread of anarchy that could give the global militant network more room to operate. "There is heavy gunfire and violent clashing between government forces and Sheikh (Sadiq) al-Ahmar's guards," a witness said, referring to a powerful tribal leader who has sided with the protesters. One person was killed and 15 people were wounded, one of them a reporter of the state news agency Saba, witnesses said.
The pro-opposition Suhail television said five of Ahmar's guards were killed and 35 wounded. The report could not be independently confirmed. The shooting, which shattered windows at Saba's offices, followed the collapse of a transition deal mediated by Gulf neighbours that Saleh was to have signed on Sunday and would have given him immunity from prosecution, ensuring a dignified exit.
The US embassy closed its consular section to the public for at least two days due to a "fluid security situation", the mission said in a statement. The government accused Ahmar's men of firing on a school and the Saba building. Ahmar's office said government forces opened fire when his guards prevented them from entering a school where Ahmar said loyalists were stockpiling weapons. South of the capital, loyalist gunmen opened fire on the headquarters of the Islamist party Islah, the biggest member of Yemen's opposition coalition, in the city of Ibb.
Saleh has backed out of previous deals aimed at easing him out of power, but Sunday's turnabout appeared to be among the most forceful, coming after loyalist gunmen trapped Western and Arab diplomats in the United Arab Emirates embassy for hours.