23 tribesmen were killed overnight after fierce clashes erupted between tribal fighters and Yemeni troops loyal to embattled leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

23 tribesmen were killed overnight after fierce clashes erupted between tribal fighters and Yemeni troops loyal to embattled leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"Twenty-three of our fighters were killed in fierce overnight clashes with the Republican Guard”, a tribal source said on Tuesday from the Bakil tribe, adding that the worst fighting was concentrated in the area of Sheheb Arhab.

The trouble began last week after the elite Republican Guard, which is led by Saleh's son, Ahmed, installed a checkpoint that allegedly harassed residents of the area that is considered the northeastern gate to Sanaa.

The source said troops chased tribesmen to their villages after few skirmishes, adding that the Republican Guard and the army had recently deployed reinforcements in Arhab, which lies 40 kilometers outside Sanaa.

Tribal sources claimed that the army was planning a war against the Bakil tribe, Yemen's largest confederation of smaller tribes.
But officials have claimed that gunmen belonging to opposition were plotting to take control of a nearby army base and the Sanaa airport.