SANAA/ADEN: President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed Thursday to overcome Yemen's crisis, signalling once again he has no plans to quit, and in the latest wave of raids, gunmen attacked government buildings and a checkpoint. Gulf Arab states have seen Saleh, forced to have surgery in Saudi Arabia after an attack on his palace this month, thwart three diplomatic bids to ease him from power and end a political crisis that has threatened to descend into civil war. “Yemen is capable of overcoming the crisis and achieving the supreme interests of the Yemeni people,” state media quoted Saleh as telling Bahrain's king by telephone. Months of pro-democracy protests against Saleh's 33-year rule have nearly paralysed the country, leading to severe shortages of electricity, water and fuel. Shipping sources said a tanker carrying 600,000 barrels of oil arrived at the port of Aden as part of a grant of 3 million barrels promised by Saudi Arabia. The sources said it would go to Aden's refinery, idled since a blast in April cut the pipeline on which it relies. Opponents of Saleh say he has let his forces hand over power to militants, who seized Zinjibar — the capital of the flashpoint southern province of Abyan — last month, in order to stoke fears that only his rule prevents a militant takeover. On Thursday, masked gunmen, whom Yemen's army called Al-Qaeda members, briefly took over a security headquarters and government building in Masameer, southern Yemen, residents told Reuters by telephone. “There was a long battle with the security forces,” one resident said. The gunmen retreated after using up their ammunition, the resident said.
