Ali Abdullah Saleh defies western efforts to negotiate an exit as clashes continue in capital for third day
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh has issued messages of defiance, saying he will not step down or allow the country to become a "failed state", as clashes continued in the heart of the capital for a third day.
Saleh's sharp response on Wednesday – read by his spokesman – suggested he was prepared to escalate the fight against opposition tribes that have been locked in urban combat with government forces in Sana'a since Monday, leaving at least 41 dead and dozens badly injured.
The conflict also sharply increased chances that Yemen's three-month uprising could turn into a militia-led revolt after street protests and Arab mediation failed to crack Saleh's 32-year authoritarian rule.
"I will not leave power and I will not leave Yemen," the spokesman, Ahmed al-Soufi, quoted Saleh as saying at a meeting with tribal allies.
Saleh also took a direct swipe at US-backed efforts to negotiate an exit. "I don't take orders from outside."
"Yemen will not be a failed state. It will not turn to al-Qaida refuge," Saleh said, in another stab at western fears that chaos in Yemen would open the door for an al-Qaida offshoot to expand its operations. The Yemen-based cell al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is linked to the attempted Christmas Day 2009 bombing of an airliner over Detroit and explosives found in parcels intercepted last year in Dubai and Britain.
Despite his tough talk, Saleh's statement also promised he would try to keep the latest violence from "dragging the country into a civil war".
The clashes began on Monday after Saleh's troops tried to storm the compound of the head of Yemen's largest tribe, the Hashid. Hundreds of tribal fighters then responded with fierce attacks on government forces.
The battles have ravaged the capital's central Hassaba district, which contains government offices and the headquarters of Saleh's ruling party. The tribal fighters have occupied several government buildings while Saleh's forces have used the interior ministry as their frontline base.
Video on the al-Jazeera network showed destroyed walls and ceilings in one of the houses in the compound while the injured, many in traditional Yemeni dress and others in military-style uniforms, were rushed to a field clinic.
An Associated Press reporter saw dozens of families packing up and fleeing the Hassaba district for safety outside the capital. Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that all access to Sana'a was being blocked by pro-government Republican Guards, who are under the command of Saleh's son, leaving hundreds of Yemenis trying to enter the capital stranded and forced to spend the night in their cars.
The fighting also appears to be widening into nearby neighbourhoods. Volleys of mortars hit an army unit that had defected to the opposition side in the district of al-Nahda, killing three and injuring 10 others, according to a military official.
Medical officials said 24 tribesmen were killed over the past two days, while government officials said 14 soldiers were killed and 20 were missing.