International players have called for restraint on both sides. (Creative Commons)

Officials in Yemen blamed al-Qaeda-associated elements within the opposition for instigating the violence. Yet Editor of the Yemen Post Hakim al-Masmari painted a different picture in his assessment of the situation and claimed that with the use of snipers, “heavy shelling,” and air power to quell the recent unrest, the government -- not the protesters -- was ultimately to blame. An article in the BBC carried his remarks:

“I wouldn't call these clashes though because the protesters are armed only with rocks and can't really fight back against armed troops and snipers. Our offices are about five to 10 minutes from Change Square, and I can hear the sound of explosions everywhere - northern, eastern and western parts of the city.”

“We can hear heavy shelling, and also air attacks. There are military planes flying overhead regularly and consistently. The planes are attacking the military positions held by troops who defected to the protesters, while the security forces are using guns to target the protesters on the ground.”

Imbalance of power might not last. The Associated Press reports that the protesters stormed an elite Republican Guards base in the latest uprising, seizing weapons and chasing government forces away without “firing a single shot.”

Although the base was not particularly large — the Republican Guards have bigger ones in the capital and elsewhere in Yemen — its capture buoyed the protesters' spirits and signaled what could be the start of the collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year-old regime.

"It was unbelievable," said protester Ameen Ali Saleh of storming the base on the west side of the major al-Zubairy road, which runs through the heart of Sanaa. "We acted like it was us who had the weapons, not the soldiers."

For Amnesty International, cooler heads must prevail to prevent the possibility of civil war. Philip Luther, the organization’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, warned that recent violence could bring instability.

"Yemen is on a knife edge,” Luther said on the organization’s website. “Those who have been protesting peacefully for change are increasingly frustrated by the political deadlock.”

“Meanwhile, eruptions of violence point to a growing risk of civil war,” he continued. “The Yemeni authorities must stop the use of excessive force before the violence spirals out of control.”

The U.N. also had strong words. “The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about the escalation of violence in Yemen,” said a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in a statement.

"He calls on all sides to exercise utmost restraint and desist from provocative actions. He strongly condemns the excessive use of force by government security forces against unarmed protestors in the capital Sana'a, resulting in scores of people killed and many more injured.”

Much of the unrest stemmed from calls by the protesters for the ousting of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saleh, who had previously expressed his willingness to step down in return for immunity, stoked controversy and further unrest on April 30 when he refused to sign the deal.

On Sept. 12, Saleh gave his vice president the power to sign the deal yet called for further talks before the signing, prompting doubts from the opposition as to whether he would make good on his word.

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