World IN BRIEF : YEMEN : Rival Troops Clash a Day After Accord

Five people were reported killed in a clash between northern and southern Yemeni forces that threatened to undermine a day-old reconciliation accord. It was the first fatal clash between the two armies since a leadership crisis began six months ago. A reconciliation and reform charter was signed just a day earlier in Amman, Jordan. Sources in Sana, the capital, said about 150 northern Amalqa Brigade troops besieged government offices in Abyan, 200 miles south of Sana, after reports that the provincial governor, a northerner, was replaced by a southerner. They said south Yemeni troops, backed by tanks, fought with the group, leaving five dead. They did not know which side suffered the casualties. Defense Minister Haithem Qassem, a southerner, said in Aden that the dust-up occurred when Amalqa Brigade troops “provocatively deployed” and cut off troops of the southern Madra Brigade trying to return to barracks.