SANA'A: Residents in Taiz, Yemen's second most populous city and main flashpoint of the revolution, told Bikyamasr.com that renewed fighting between the Republican Guards and the armed opposition has led to yet more deaths and casualties, leaving many to fear that the worse was to come. On Tuesday alone reported some medical staff “eight people died, amongst whom two women and a child.” “The defenders of the revolution were able to gain control of Gurra Mountain and seize a number of the regime's military vehicles and equipment,” said a media spokesperson from Freedom Square in Taiz. “We combed the Zaid Al-Moshiki residential compound and removed all elements of state security.” Military sources revealed that the Commander of the Republican Guards was trying to secure Taiz as he feared that a resistance coalition could be formed there and come to threaten him in the capital by forcing his troops to lose their foothold in the region. “Ahmed Ali [the Head of the Republican Guard and son to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh] moved against Taiz air force base a few days ago, forcing out all dissident troops. He wants to cover his back and for that he needs the advantage of the air force. If the regime loses its places it will be on equal footing with its enemies and Saleh does not want that,” said Colonel Sadeq Ghorbani. The Republican Guards offered another explanation as to their move against Taiz, saying that elements from the Muslim Brotherhood a branch of al-Islah, Yemen's Islamic political faction, were threatening to take over state institutions, putting the lives of civilians at risk. A security official at the Republican Guard installation in Taiz said: “The militias of the Muslim Brotherhood attacked the residential areas the same way they attacked health institutions, using all types of light and heavy weaponry.”
