"A total of 11 soldiers' bodies have been brought to the police hospital and dozens of others were receiving treatment," doctors at the hospital told Xinhua.
"There is no information about casualties among the defected military forces so far," one of the doctors said.
Police officials said the clashes erupted after troops of the defected First Armored Division and gunmen loyal to opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar in security uniforms entered the headquarters of the interior ministry late Monday.
"A large number of troops from the defected army and militants loyal to al-Ahmar attacked the security soldiers guarding the building of the ministry, and they then set up several barricades around the scene," a police official at the ministry told Xinhua by phone.
"The government forces in the nearby security camp tried to protect the ministry and drove those militants away... but the defected troops opened fire on the security soldiers. Severe clashes have continued for more than 10 hours," he said on condition of anonymity.
"The defected soldiers claimed that they received orders from the defected general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar to enter the ministry in order to protect it," he added.
All roads leading to the clash area were blocked by the rescue police forces and armed tribesmen led by Sadiq al-Ahmar. According to witnesses, militants loyal to al-Ahmar have been deployed around the interior ministry.
Several ambulances carrying injured soldiers were seen coming out from the clash zone and a nearby security camp, which is responsible for guarding the ministry.
Meanwhile, about eight armored vehicles from the central security forces were seen heading to the interior ministry, while the sound of heavy machine guns was still rocking the area.
According to witnesses, both the rival forces sent reinforcement to the area after clashes intensified and spread Tuesday afternoon to neighborhoods close to the U.S. embassy in eastern the capital.
This is the worst clashes since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February. Sanaa has witnessed a month- long street battles between the defected army backed by militants of Sadiq al-Ahmar and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh before Saleh handed over power to Hadi after the presidential election.
Hadi has vowed to reunify the army, restore security and launch a national dialogue to settle disputes among all political factions to focus efforts on combating the Yemen-based al-Qaida network.
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from REUTERS:
Eight killed in clashes near Yemen Interior Ministry
(Reuters) - Eight people were killed in clashes between Yemeni government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, who were trying to storm the Interior Ministry in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday, a medical source said.
The source said a "large number" of people were also wounded in the fighting. It was not clear whether those killed were soldiers or tribesmen.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Writing by Isabel Coles)
SANAA | Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:40am BST
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