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Street fighting raged across the Yemeni capital on Tuesday after a tenuous truce broke down between tribal groups and forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, edging the Arab country closer to civil war.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said his office had received as yet not fully confirmed reports that more than 50 people had been killed by Yemeni government forces since Sunday.

Global powers have been pressing Saleh to sign a Gulf-led deal to hand over power to try to stem the growing chaos in Yemen, home to al-Qaida militants and neighbor to the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia. The turmoil has been a factor keeping up oil prices on Tuesday, traders said.

"The cease-fire agreement has ended," a government official said on Tuesday, adding that tribal groups had gained control of a government building.

On Tuesday, there were three main flashpoints in the troubled country with street fighting in the capital; government troops gunning down protesters in Taiz and a battle with al-Qaida and Islamic militants in the coastal city of Zinjibar.

Overnight battles in the capital brought an end to the truce brokered at the weekend. More than 115 people were killed last week in urban battles with machine guns, mortars and rocket propelled grenades in the bloodiest fighting since anti-government protests began months ago.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

Todd Balazovic is a reporter for the Metro Section of China Daily. Born in Mineapolis Minnesota in the US, he graduated from Central Michigan University and has worked for the China Daily for one year.