SANA'A: A security official told local media on Saturday that the death toll in Arhab was “quite significant,” making an estimate at about 80 tribesmen in the past 48 hours alone. For the past two to three days, the government forces have intensified their campaign in the region of Arhab, which is situated a few kilometers north of Sana'a, the capital and lies directly in line with Sana'a International Airport, in retaliation against the capture of one the Republican Guards' bases. For months on ends, the tribes which are denouncing Saleh's rule and siding with the revolutionaries have bear the blunt of the President's wrath as they are seriously hindering military operations in the region. The tribes are posing the regime a dual threat. One on hand they have sworn to prevent any government troops' movement towards Hodeidah, creating a cordon of protection from their end and on the other hand they have threatened the regime of unleashing their fighters onto Sana'a, via the route of the international airport, taking the capital's most important military bastion of al-Sama'a. Months of intense shelling and blockade have forced civilians to flee the war-torn zone, some pushed to find refuge into neighboring mountains for shelter. Last week, the tribes reached a breaking point when another round of mortar shells killed yet another of their children, a 10 year-old boy. Enraged the tribesmen took arms and marched towards the nearby Republican Guards' encampment, overrunning the regime troops in a matter of hours. Eyewitnesses reported at the time that soldiers were seen fleeing the scene. The regime's response was swift, intense and continuous bombing of the area. For the past 2 days straight, the regime has been pounding Arhab from the air and the ground, leaving its population no respite or mercy. A military source confirmed that 80 tribesmen were killed alongside 20 soldiers. BM
