According to eyewitnesses, government security forces and tribesmen loyal to Hashid tribal leader Sadeq Al-Ahmar clashed in the Hasabah neighborhood in northern Sanaa.

Abdulqawi Al-Qaisi, spokesman for the Al-Ahmar family, said government forces have been attacking the tribal leader's family residences.

Residents and witnesses also reported that the Republican Guard was bombarding the headquarters of the 1st Armored Division, loyal to Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, who withdrew his support from President Ali Abdullah Saleh in late March.

The embattled Saleh said on October 16 that "strong documentation of the cooperation" between al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood indicate a military coup that is destabilising the country. He described the opposition as "insane people, who can't sleep and only want to take power."

Bloodshed continued on October 16, including the deaths of three people in Sanaa when a rocket-propelled grenade hit bystanders, medics said.

Earlier in the day, Yemeni security forces opened fired on demonstrators gathering for a planned march in the capital, killing five people and injuring 54 others.