Armed tribesmen attack gov't buildings in Yemen's Taiz

ADEN, Yemen, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Armed tribesmen along with army dissidents launched several attacks on a number of government buildings and facilities on Monday, trying to impose its control on Yemen's southern province of Taiz, witnesses told Xinhua.

Armed groups belonging to powerful tribesmen tried to break into the Central Prison in the province and other buildings, using heavy machine guns, Ahmed al-Salahi, a witness told Xinhua.

The armed tribesmen have vowed to protect the anti-government protesters and carried out several attacks at the military checkpoints since two weeks ago, trying to impose its control on the province following the retreat of the security forces, al-Salahi said.

The security forces withdrew its troops stationed at the entrances and checkpoints in Taiz, which encouraged the armed tribesmen supported by army dissidents to seize control of most of the province, he added.

Fierce fighting between the government forces and armed tribesmen broke out in several main cities of Yemen since last month.