AFP

SANAA AT least 13 people have been killed and more than 40 others wounded in renewed clashes in Yemen’s capital and its second city, medics and activists said on Wednesday, after a brief period of calm.

Armed clashes broke out early Wednesday in the flashpoint city of Taez between government forces and tribesmen who support a mass protest movement calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s resignation, said activists.

Eight civilians, including a 13-year-old boy, and two gunmen were killed and 43 people wounded, mostly civilians, in the ensuing violence, according to the latest toll provided by medical officials.

Residents and gunmen said pro-Saleh troops were targeting Taez neighbourhoods with heavy weapons, including mortar and tank shells, damaging some high-rise buildings.

Witnesses said fires and smoke were seen rising from the city, where clashes continued into the afternoon with heavy shelling rocking central and northern Taez.

In Sanaa, intermittent clashes erupted Tuesday in Hasaba district between government troops and gunmen loyal to influential tribal chief Sheikh Sadeq al Ahmar, killed two tribesmen and a policemen, said medical officials.

At least seven others were wounded in the restive district, the scene of fierce clashes and shelling in recent weeks, said the medics.