Turkey plans to evacuate 30 Turks stranded in Yemen

The fighting, the most sustained clashes in Sana’a since protests against embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule began in February, erupted on Monday, a day after the president refused at the last minute to sign a Gulf-brokered deal that would ease him out of power.

Turks, increasingly fearful, have been waiting for a THY plane to land in Sana’a, scheduled for late Wednesday, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Yemeni authorities closed the Sana’a airport and flights were being diverted after clashes broke out with tribesmen loyal to Sadiq al-Ahmar. A number of airlines began cancelling flights to Yemen on Tuesday.

The general manager of THY’s Yemen’s office, Serkan Özbüyükyörük, told Anatolia that the planned evacuation is supposed to be completed on Wednesday and that a THY plane was expected to land in the Yemeni capital. No information was immediately available about whether the plane had landed on Wednesday.

Tuesday's clashes broke out after government forces tried to storm al-Ahmar's compound in Sana’a’s Hassaba district, an area that includes government ministries and the headquarters of Saleh's ruling party. The district is on the road to the Sana’a airport.