SANAA: Yemeni troops were surrounding a mosque controlled by ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh on Sunday amid fears he is plotting a coup, days after the ex-strongman’s media outlets were silenced.

Also on Sunday, an Al Qaeda suspect killed eight people in the south and fresh clashes erupted between security forces and Huthi rebels in the north, ending an 11-day truce mediated by the UN.

Yemen’s presidential guard, backed by armoured vehicles, has since late Saturday blocked access to the large Al-Saleh mosque in southern Sanaa, a correspondent reported.

Saleh ruled Yemen for 33 years before he was forced out in February 2012 and replaced by his long-time deputy Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi under a UN- and Gulf-sponsored deal.

A source close to the presidency said that weapons had been stored in the mosque and were being guarded by gunmen loyal to Saleh.

A tunnel connecting the site to the presidential palace had also been discovered. Hadi suspects his predecessor is “plotting a coup”, the source said.

Saleh, who has his own bodyguards, boosted security around his residence in the Hada district, also in south Sanaa. He still heads the influential General People’s Congress party which holds half of the government’s ministries and retains the loyalty of some elements in the military.

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2014