With the new escalation in violence witnessed in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, new districts of the city have fallen victims to the specter of war, living in constant fear of shelling or gun-fighting.
Despite being classified by the UNESO as World Heritage in 1986, Bab al Yemen, Sana'a most ancient and well-known district has been living in fear.
Only last week residents told the Yemen Post under cover of anonymity that they had seen al-Islah loyalists ride pick-up trucks where guns and rocket launchers were mounting, threatening passers-by of retaliations if they refused to comply with their demands, urging them to join the movement against president Saleh.
Others stated that those they called "the thugs" were willingly harassing the neighborhood and provoking the government troops posted in the area as they said they were trying "to stir trouble and plunge the country into civil war".
Since such claims are practically impossible to verify as they could be born from either anger or motivated by political affiliations, it is very hard to judge how much truth lies in such statements.
However an incident seems to be confirming, or at least concurring some of the accusations, as al-Islah loyalists were seen launching a rocket at a girl school. Residents declared that although the men might not have targeted the all-girl school willingly, the rocket did end up on the establishment.
As a result a teacher was killed and several students were injured.
Ironically, the school belongs to al-Islah, further proof that it was a miscalculated hit. Nevertheless the children were left traumatized, and their parents are now refusing to send them back to school saying that they will wait for things to get better to resume their education.
"They [thugs] have been roaming the streets, firing their guns in the air to scare us for weeks now…nobody reports it; nobody talks about it because they think we are poor and insignificant. But we have family and we are scared for them. Al-Islah is as bad as the government…they are only looking for their own interests" said Nawal al Sharaabi.
In a separate incident, al-Islah troops have been accused of exploding sound grenades in several northern district at the capital, as to some residents are claiming, instigate an armed confrontation with the government troops.
The Yemen post was unable to verify the veracity of the allegations.