Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the arrest of tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar on Thursday following a night of deadly clashes in Sanaa, al Jazeera reported.
Dozens of people were killed in gun battles between opposition protesters and pro-government forces in the Yemeni capital on Wednesday night. Some 28 more people were killed in an explosion at an arms storage area.
Al-Ahmar, an opposition leader and the head of the Hashid tribe, has called on unpopular president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in order to prevent further bloodshed in the country.
Yemen's foreign ministry said on Tuesday Saleh had called for Al-Ahmar to be brought to justice "for armed rebellion."
Around 140 people are thought to have died as a result of protests in Yemen, which have been raging for the past four months.
The ruling party approved an Arab League-mediated deal, stipulating the resignation of Saleh and the handing power to the national unity government, but the opposition rejected it on grounds that it gave the president and his close relatives immunity from prosecution.
MOSCOW, May 26 (RIA Novosti)
