Defected soldiers attack military base in north Yemen, one soldier killed

SANAA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Defected military soldiers, who supported the anti-government protesters' demand of ousting Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, launched an attack on a government military base in the northern province of Hajja on Thursday, killing a soldier and injuring a passerby, state-run Saba news agency reported.

"The dissident soldiers headed by Abdullah Siraj launched an incursion into a military checkpoint stationed alongside the wall of the military base and a school nearby and attempted to occupy the base, killing one soldier of the checkpoint and wounding a passerby near the school," a provincial military official was quoted by Saba as saying.

"The government forces confronted the attack as the leadership of the military base exercised the maximum restraint to prevent further bloodshed," he added.

The official warned defectors of the consequences of persistent attacks against the government forces and military bases, Saba said.

Triggered by five-month-long protests calling for ousting Saleh, the impoverished Arab country has witnessed a string of deadly clashes between pro and anti-government forces across the country that killed hundreds of people, as fears soared that such conflicts could turn into a civil war.