Shellings and heavy shootings flared late Tuesday between government forces and opposition-backed armed tribesmen in Yemen's southern province of Taiz, residents and eyewitnesses said, Xinhua reported.
The pitched street battles erupted after the killing of a security officer, for which the commanders of the government forces blamed the armed tribesmen, who involved in weeks-long armed confrontation against government forces "to protect the peaceful protesters," demanding the ouster of embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The eyewitnesses said that government forces used tanks in shelling the hideouts of the tribesmen, who still occupied several of government buildings. Heavy shootings were also traded near the sit-in square of anti-government protesters in downtown Taiz city, some 200 km south of the capital Sanaa.
The fresh clashes came few days after the government officials accused the opposition of breaking truce deal after their tribesmen followers refused to peacefully hand over the buildings they seized over clashes.
No casualties have been reported.