Yemen, Syria Fire on Demonstrators

By Juliann Francis
May 30, 2011

Yemeni security forces set fire to the tents of protesters in Freedom Square in Taiz, south of Sana’a, and opened fire on demonstrators, Al Jazeera television reported.

Akram Saed, who was in the square, told the network by telephone that there were “flames everywhere” and that the security forces aimed “directly at protesters.” Thousands of demonstrators have been camped out at the square to demand the ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

More than 3,000 people have been rallying outside a government building near Freedom Square to call for the release of six protesters who were detained on May 26, said Bushra al- Maktari, an activist. Protesters in Taiz arrested one soldier and demanded in return the release of their colleagues, Al Jazeera said.

Some soldiers joined the opposition in Taiz, according to Al Jazeera. Al Arabiya television reported yesterday that five protesters in Taiz were killed; Al Jazeera said 90 were wounded.

Elsewhere in Yemen, Islamist gunmen yesterday occupied government buildings in the coastal city of Zanjibar amid claims that groups such as al-Qaeda are exploiting unrest caused by anti-government protests that began Feb. 11. Al Jazeera reported that five people were killed and nine were wounded.

Twenty-two soldiers were killed in Yemen on Saturday and Sunday, according to Al Arabiya’s correspondent in Sana’a.

Saleh has refused to sign a Western-backed power transition accord, brokered by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, that provides for his departure.

Syrian Army Helicopters

In Syria, army helicopters fired on anti-government demonstrators yesterday as government forces continued a crackdown on protests that began in mid-March and the opposition prepared for a conference in Turkey tomorrow.

The military fired on people in the towns of Talbiseh and Rastan, injuring at least 16, said Ammar Qurabi, head of Syria’s National Organization for Human Rights. Thirteen were wounded in Talbiseh when Syrian forces shot at a school bus, Al Arabiya television reported, citing an activist, and eight demonstrators were killed. The official Syrian news agency SANA, citing a military source, said four soldiers, including an officer, were killed in Talbiseh.

At least seven civilians were killed in the nearby city of Homs, including a woman and a child, Qurabi said. A security officer was also killed in Homs, where government forces aren’t allowing anyone in or out of the city, he said.

Syrian security forces carried out widespread arrests over the weekend as protesters took to the streets after 13 people were killed in nationwide rallies following Friday prayers.

Security forces broke up rallies nationwide by gunfire, pushing the death toll beyond 1,100 since mid-March, when demonstrations against the government of President Bashar Al- Assad began, according to Qurabi.

Conference in Turkey

Syrian opposition groups and activists will hold a conference in Turkey, starting tomorrow, in support of the demonstrators demanding political changes, according to Qurabi. More than 200 people are expected to attend the three-day event in the Mediterranean city of Antalya, he said.

The European Union announced sanctions aimed at Syrian leaders last week and is reviewing aid programs. The U.S. has frozen the assets of Assad and six other officials, and President Barack Obama has urged Assad to “get out of the way” of a democratic transition.

Syrian officials blame the unrest on Islamic militants and “terrorist elements” seeking to destabilize the country. Assad initially promised reforms in response to the protests, which followed the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia that led to the successful ousters of those countries’ rulers.

Egyptian Elections

The Egyptian newspaper Al Ahram reported that according to Hassan al-Roweini, a member of the country’s ruling military council, parliamentary and presidential elections will occur on time, before the end of the year. The security situation won’t delay the elections, Roweini was reported as saying in a television interview on Alhayat TV 2 channel.

Egypt’s shares rose to the highest level in almost two months after the leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations pledged to provide at least $40 billion in aid to pro- democracy movements in North Africa.

An Iranian diplomat accused of spying in Egypt was declared persona non grata and will be expelled, Al Arabiya reported.

In Libya yesterday, North Atlantic Treaty Organization jets bombed weapons caches and oil trucks in the coastal city of Ajdabiya, Al Jazeera reported. That attack came a day after the U.K. said that NATO planes had leveled guard towers atop the walls of leader Muammar Qaddafi’s compound in central Tripoli.

Source: Bloomberg.
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-29/syria-s-helicopters-fire-on-protesters-egypt-still-plans-vote-this-year.html.