A shell fired near a Yemeni general\'s military headquarters in the capital A shell which accidentally struck an army weapons depot in the Yemeni capital killed at least two soldiers and wounded three others on Thursday, a military official revealed. \"Initial information indicates that a shell was (accidentally) fired at the weapons depot\" from a nearby military facility where troops were training\", the official said.Witnesses said the shell that struck the weapons depot set off a series of explosion, producing large clouds of smokes in the city.
Debris and shrapnel from the blast scattered in neighbourhoods, witnesses said.
A local source revealed that gunmen from a nearby tribe fired missiles in retaliation as they thought they were being attacked.
Arabstoday\'s correspondent, who was in the area at the time, saw a huge cloud of smoke and dust covering the area as the missile fell near a local bank in the south of al-Hassaba neighbourhood.
The shell hit barracks under the command of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who had joined last year a popular uprising against the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
A military source in Ahmar\'s force, known as the First Division, said a rocket fired from outside the camp had landed on an ammunition cache, setting off the explosions.
The Yemeni Defence Ministry said the blasts were caused by an accident at the ammunition store, but gave no further details.
Military engineering teams have rushed to defuse some unexploded shells.
Officials have reassured the locals, confirming that there was no risk of further explosion.
The Defence Ministry formed a committee, headed by Deputy Chief of General Staff for Technical Affairs Mohammed al-Meqdashi to investigate the incident\'s details.
In related news, the capital\'s Mayor urged President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to issue firm directives to bring the armed forces camps – currently located in residential neighbourhoods - outside the capital.
\"The military camps constitute a major threat to the citizens\' lives,\" said Sanaa’s Mayor Abdulkader Hilal
\"The capital\'s municipality would formally demand to remove all the military camps and utilise their sites to have public and service facilities instead,\" he added.