Elsewhere in the Region

Yemen: The deadly fighting that rocked the Yemeni capital this week spread beyond San'a on Friday as armed tribesmen seeking to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh seized two military camps in battles that killed at least 18 and prompted air strikes by government warplanes, a tribal leader said. The fighting brought to at least 124 the number killed in the last five days of bloodshed, which has raised fears that the Arab world's poorest country could be thrown into civil war.

Syria: Security forces opened fire on antigovernment demonstrations, killing at least eight people as thousands took to the streets despite the near-certainty they would face gunfire, tear gas, and stun guns, human-rights activists and witnesses said. Protests erupted in the capital, Damascus, and the coastal city of Banias, the central city of Homs, and elsewhere.

- Associated PressEndText