Loyalist and opposition troops continue to fight each other in Sana’a, increasing the risk of a military-to-military conflict in Yemen.

The fighting in Sana’a is ongoing. Yemeni Central Security Forces are now in complete control of al Zubayri Street and a bridge previously held by defected troops. At least four defected soldiers from the First Armored Division were killed in overnight clashes.  At least three rockets struck a protest camp just after morning prayers, killing at least two protestors and injuring 11 others. It is unclear whether the protest camp was the intended target. The Republican Guard forces targeted the base of the First Armored Division with shelling, after taking up a position on a nearby mountain, according to reports. The shelling then spread to Hadda neighborhood, where opposition tribesmen and loyalist troops were fighting. Yesterday, thousands of protestors, along with defected soldiers, stormed a Republican Guard base in the capital. The Republican Guards fled the base, leaving weapons behind. Sana’a residents have begun to flee the capital for the safety of surrounding villages and Sana’a international airport has been closed.

Protestors have turned out in Aden and Taiz. Clashes in Taiz between security forces and protestors killed two people.

International mediators are attempting to push through a transition deal. Delegations from the UN and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have remained in Sana’a and are seeking to meet with regime and opposition members. An opposition spokesman, Mohammed al Sabri, said that opposition members have refused to meet with delegation members because of the bloodshed over the past three days. “Any talks would be a collaboration in the crimes committed by the regime,” he said. Additionally, the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen met with defected General Ali Mohsen al Ahmar Monday. The U.S. Embassy in Yemen issued a statement Monday condemning the violence.

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.