Violence resumed in Sana’a after the Yemeni regime indicated that it would be moving forward with the transition process. Sporadic clashes are occurring with opposition tribesmen and there is a crackdown on protestors in the capital. In the south, al Qaeda-linked militants still control territory, despite recent gains by the Yemeni military.

Fighting continues in Sana’a between opposition tribesmen and loyalist Yemeni troops. Hashid tribal confederation leader Sheikh Sadiq al Ahmar’s family said that elite Republican Guard units had shelled their residence, which in al Hasaba district. Shelling also hit nearby al Mazda road, in the district’s center. Yemen’s Minister of the Interior Motahar Rashad al Masri said, “Ahmar’s gunmen, deployed on the rooftops, opened fire on the ministry of the interior and policemen who were having their lunch.” A Yemeni official reported that additional tribesmen have entered Sana’a and are setting up new checkpoints.

Yemeni security forces attacked protestors participating in a sit-in near Sana’a University Saturday. At least eight protestors were injured during a march into Sana’a University on the first day of classes. Thousands of protestors took part in the demonstration, tearing down pictures of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh inside administrative buildings. A security official reported that army fire wounded two protestors Sunday. Reports indicate that at least 22 people have been killed. Defected troops reportedly control access to the university, having stationed tanks and armored vehicles near the campus entrance. Yemeni security forces are continuing a violent crackdown on protestors, according to social media reports.

There is renewed fighting in Zinjibar between Yemeni troops and al Qaeda-linked militants. A military official reported that six soldiers had been killed in the fighting. The al Qaeda-linked militant group Ansar al Sharia still controls the eastern parts of Zinjibar.

A resolution to the political crisis in the capital will not end the fragmentation of the Yemeni state, which remains at risk of a broader armed conflict. The current situation has increased al Qaeda's operating space in Yemen.