Reports from Yemen say that 38 people including 24 tribesmen belonging to Yemeni opposition leader Sadeq al-Ahmar , as well as 14 government soldiers have been killed in intensified clashes in Sanaa. The government accused Ahmar's men of igniting clashes by firing on a school and the headquarters of the state news agency. A statement by opposition groups however accused president Saleh of dragging the country to chaos. Government officials said 20 soldiers are missing as the situation deteriorated following the collapse of an Arab mediation effort to get Saleh to step down. Tribal mediators also held talks to try to bring an end to the fighting but e mediation had not brought a resolution. Meanwhile Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has called on parties in Yemen to cease hostilities to avoid further bloodshed. In a statement issued in Riyadh last evening on the sidelines of a celebration, marking the 30th anniversary of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al-Zayani urged the Yemeni parties to return to the GCC-brokered agreement to guarantee safety, security and stability of Yemen. He appealed the conflicting parties in Yemen to exercise self-restraint.