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Yemen: Hashid tribal fighters in ceasefire with Saleh | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Yemen's president and the country's most powerful tribal leader have agreed a ceasefire after five days of fighting in the capital Sanaa, a mediator says. | |
At least 124 people have died in battles between forces loyal to Hashid leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar and President Ali Abdullah Saleh. | |
A tribal mediator says both sides have agreed to withdraw their troops. | |
Meanwhile in southern Yemen, three French aid workers are feared kidnapped after going missing, officials say. | |
The three are reported to have gone missing in Hadramawt in the south-east. | The three are reported to have gone missing in Hadramawt in the south-east. |
Gun battles | |
The ceasefire brings a halt to gun battles that had threatened to push Yemen into civil war. | |
The clashes began when President Saleh's security forces attacked the compound of Sheikh Ahmar, in the Hassaba neighbourhood of Sanaa. | |
Armed tribesmen fought back and reportedly seized control of several government buildings in the area. | |
A tribal mediator said the sides have now agreed to withdraw their forces from Hassaba, beginning on Sunday morning. | |
President Saleh is under pressure to step down after months of street protests, but has so far refused to sign a power-transition deal mediated by the Gulf Co-operation Council. | |
The three missing French aid workers had been in Seyun since mid-April working for Triangle Generation Humanitaire, a French NGO working in Yemen since 1998. | |
A Yemeni security official told the French news agency AFP that the three men were reported missing on Saturday afternoon when they failed to return to their residence in Seyun. | A Yemeni security official told the French news agency AFP that the three men were reported missing on Saturday afternoon when they failed to return to their residence in Seyun. |
He added that their mobile phones "were suddenly switched off". | He added that their mobile phones "were suddenly switched off". |
"Units of the security forces were immediately deployed to search for them," he said. | "Units of the security forces were immediately deployed to search for them," he said. |
"The most likely thing is that they have been kidnapped." | "The most likely thing is that they have been kidnapped." |
The French foreign ministry in Paris confirmed that three French nationals had gone missing and said authorities were doing everything possible to find them. | The French foreign ministry in Paris confirmed that three French nationals had gone missing and said authorities were doing everything possible to find them. |
On its website, Triangle Generation Humanitaire says its work in Yemen includes aiding Somali refugees and helping provide clean water in the southern port of Aden. | On its website, Triangle Generation Humanitaire says its work in Yemen includes aiding Somali refugees and helping provide clean water in the southern port of Aden. |
A spokesman for the group told Reuters news agency there had been no word from its three workers since 1000 GMT. He declined to name them. | A spokesman for the group told Reuters news agency there had been no word from its three workers since 1000 GMT. He declined to name them. |
"For the moment, we have no news. We are in a crisis situation, information is arriving little by little," he said. | "For the moment, we have no news. We are in a crisis situation, information is arriving little by little," he said. |
He said the three had been on their way home from work when they vanished. | He said the three had been on their way home from work when they vanished. |
There have been dozens of kidnappings of foreigners in Yemen over recent years, and most have been freed unharmed. | |
Yemen's powerful tribes frequently kidnap people in order to bargain with the government in disputes. |