WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday urged all sides in Yemen to show restraint and respect reforms by new President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi after troops attacked the defense ministry.
"We have been urging restraint on all sides, an immediate end to the violence and respect for President Hadi and the reforms that he is putting in place and the democratic transition," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.
Troops from the elite Republican Guard, led by the son of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, attacked the defense ministry's headquarters on Tuesday but were repelled.
The assault came after Hadi ordered a restructuring of the army that reduced the number of units under the command of rival chiefs, including Saleh's son.
Saleh, who had ruled Yemen since 1978, in February became the latest leader to fall in the wave of protests against authoritarian Arab regimes.
The United States supported Yemen's political agreement -- which was brokered by Gulf Arab states -- and allowed Saleh to visit the United States to be treated for burns he suffered in attack on his palace last year.
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