SANAA - Yemeni defected army on Sunday warned the government forces over any further aggression on peaceful protesters, vowing to respond harshly in a statement issued hours after forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh fired at the protestors in the capital.

"We (defected armed forces of the First Armored Division) warn the armed forces of Saleh of the consequences of their criminal acts against peaceful demonstrators ... and our response will be hard," said the statement obtained by Xinhua.

Earlier, the defected army clashed shortly with the government forces after the government troops fired live rounds on a march of protesters in Sanaa, killing at least 26 demonstrators and injuring 700 others, medics and witnesses told Xinhua.

A security official told Xinhua that "a long column of Republican Guard soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles" were deployed near Kintaki area, in the southern end of a street leading to the protesters' epicenter Changing Square outside Sanaa University.

"The defected army captured Kintaki area following fierce battles that forced government troops to withdraw," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Meanwhile, a defected colonel told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "the dissident First Armored Division asked opposition tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar to deploy large numbers of his armed rebels to station in checkpoints around the southern and eastern parts of the defected military base in Sawad Hanash neighborhood."