SANAA - Yemeni defected army on Sunday warned the government forces over any furtheraggression on peaceful protesters, vowing to respond harshly in a statement issued hours afterforces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh fired at the protestors in the capital.
"We (defected armed forces of the First ArmoredDivision) warn the armed forces of Saleh of theconsequences of their criminal acts against peacefuldemonstrators ... and our response will be hard," saidthe statement obtained by Xinhua.
Earlier, the defected army clashed shortly with the government forces after the governmenttroops fired live rounds on a march of protesters in Sanaa, killing at least 26 demonstrators andinjuring 700 others, medics and witnesses told Xinhua.
A security official told Xinhua that "a long column of Republican Guard soldiers, tanks andarmored vehicles" were deployed near Kintaki area, in the southern end of a street leading tothe protesters' epicenter Changing Square outside Sanaa University.
"The defected army captured Kintaki area following fierce battles that forced governmenttroops to withdraw," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, a defected colonel told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "the dissident FirstArmored Division asked opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar to deploy large numbers of hisarmed rebels to station in checkpoints around the southern and eastern parts of the defectedmilitary base in Sawad Hanash neighborhood."
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