Thousands of Yemeni protesters demonstrate against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the city of Ibb on Wednesday.
(CNN) -- The United States has warned Americans against travel to Yemen and advised those in the Gulf nation to depart, citing "terrorist activities and civil unrest."
The travel warning follows Wednesday's clashes between tribesmen and government forces near Sanaa International Airport.
All arriving flights were diverted to Aden, and no flights were taking off from Sanaa, said a transportation official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The flight restrictions were imposed as anti-regime tribesmen battling Yemeni forces occupied the government's news agency compound and the tourism ministry in the capital Wednesday, the latest regime entities to be taken over during this week's street battles, witnesses said.
Hundreds of al-Hashid tribal members occupied and surrounded the SABA news agency compound and the tourism building in Sanaa after fighting with government forces in the Hasabah neighborhood.
Other ministry buildings in Hasabah also have been seized. They are the Interior, Trade and Commerce, the Education and the Local Administration headquarters. These and other government buildings in Hasabah were evacuated Tuesday night by the Interior Ministry as fighting raged.
Yemeni state-run television said supporters loyal to the al-Hashid tribe were shelling government facilities.
The fighting broke out after a regionally brokered deal calling for Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to leave office fell through. Saleh himself is a member of the al-Hashid tribe, a huge and powerful entity with many strands.
After a march Friday, during which dozens of anti-government demonstrators were killed, Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, a leader of the main opposition al-Hashid tribe, embraced the anti-government demonstrators and broke ranks with the president. Since then, more and more tribal members have turned their backs on the president as well.
The violence has attracted international attention.
"We expressed our joint concern on the deteriorating situation on the ground," U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters Wednesday in England with British Prime Minister David Cameron.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed fears that the battles might further destabilize the situation and called for "an immediate end to the fighting" and the continuation of efforts to resolve the country's political crisis.
Saleh's office called media outlets, including Yemen TV, and issued statements from Saleh defending himself.
"I will not be forced by the tribes to enter a civil war," Saleh said. "We will not give in and will fight those who threaten security and stability in the country."
Similar clashes Tuesday killed as many as 41 people -- with both sides claiming casualties. Al-Ahmar said 17 men from the al-Hashid tribe were killed in those clashes. The government said 14 soldiers and 10 civilians were killed.
Yemen, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda, has been roiled by protests for most of the year amid anti-government demonstrations that have swept across much of the Arab world. Many of the protesters in Yemen want Saleh to step aside after three decades of rule.
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