SANAA, 19 January 2004 — Twelve people, including two women, have been killed and more than 20 injured in violent tribal clashes in northern Yemen, tribal sources said yesterday.
Eight tribesmen were killed and six others injured in a fierce gun battle in the mountainous region of Khamir in Amran province, about 50 km north of the capital Sanaa late on Saturday, a tribal chief said.
The clashes erupted between two clans belonging to the Edhar and Osaimat tribes, the source told Arab News.
The two clans have been involved in ongoing clashes for three years, he said.
Yesterday, two men and two women were also killed when clashes renewed between the two heavily armed clans, the source said by telephone from Khamir.
Provincial officials said security forces had been sent to the area on Saturday to contain the violence. Armed clashes are not unusual in Yemen, a largely tribal society, where men carry firearms openly.
and tribes often settle disputes with guns.
Revenge taking and disputes over acreage are the main reasons for bloody tribal clashes.
