BURSTS of shelling threatened a fragile new truce in Yemen’s capital Sanaa late yesterday as politicians scrambled to end the bloodiest fighting in eight months.

Islamic militants seized control of a weapons factory, a strategic mountain and a nearby town in the southern Yemen province of Abyan today as a political stalemate in the capital causes security to unravel around the country.

PRESIDENT Ali Abdullah Saleh indicated he was ready to cede power to stop more bloodshed in Yemen but only to what he called “safe hands” as tens of thousands rallied against him in “Day of Departure” protests.

YEMEN’S president offered to step down by the end of the year yesterday in a bid to appease mounting demands for his resignation, but opposition groups showed no sign of easing up on efforts to force him out.

A car bomb killed five people today and wounded another 34 after it exploded near a restaurant in central Baghdad, police said.