Yemen's Crisis Mounts Amid Protests, Killings

MAY 14, 2011
By TOM FINN

SAN'A, Yemen—President Ali Abdullah Saleh rejected calls to step down Friday as hundreds of thousands of protesters, backed by army defectors, demonstrated in the Arab world's poorest country and security forces killed at least three people.

Mr. Saleh's defiance came as Qatar announced it was pulling out of efforts to mediate a solution to the crisis, blaming Yemen's president for intransigence. Qatar is one of the members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which is trying to persuade Mr. Saleh to honor a prior deal to step down.

The council is fearful that Yemen's growing instability poses risks to the region and could embolden the powerful Yemeni affiliate of al Qaeda.

Addressing thousands of flag-waving supporters at a Friday prayer sermon in central San'a, Mr. Saleh described protesters as "saboteurs" and advised the political opposition who are seeking his ouster to use the ballot box and "stop playing with fire."

"We will defend ourselves with all our forces and by all means," he said.

Minutes after his speech, security forces fired on a throng of protesters carrying out a burial ceremony in Ibb, a city south of San'a. A local pediatrician said three people were killed and 29 wounded in the clash, bringing the reported overall protest death toll in Yemen to more than 145 people, says Amnesty International.

Two miles north of where Mr. Saleh was addressing his supporters, an estimated half a million antigovernment protesters at San'a University staged their biggest pro-democracy rally since unrest broke out three months ago, filling a four-mile stretch of road with tents, banners and makeshift restaurants.

Raising the specter of a broader conflict, they protested under the watchful eyes of soldiers and tanks sent by Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a former Saleh confidant who has since joined the opposition.

On Wednesday, Major Ali Mohsen's forces clashed in San'a with the elite Republican Guard, a force headed by the president's son. The four-hour gun battle left at least ten protesters and one soldier dead.

The prolonged conflict is threatening to worsen Yemen's already crippled economy. Tribesmen blockading Yemen's oil- and gas-producing Marib province are creating a fuel crisis that is costing the country $3 million a day in blocked exports.

Fuel shortages mean dry parts of the country have not received water shipments and even the capital San'a is grappling with power cuts that last up to 10 hours a day. Food prices have skyrocketed and cooking gas quadrupled in a country where some 40% of the population of 23 million people live on less than $2 a day and a third face chronic hunger.

Oil and Minerals Minister Amir al-Aydarous warned on Thursday that Yemen was on the verge of an "economic disaster,"

"If the problem persists, the government will be unable to meet the minimum needs of the citizens. The situation will pose a catastrophe beyond imagination," Mr. Al-Ayradous said.

Qatar's withdrawal from the initiative is the latest chapter in weeks of steadily souring relations between Doha and San'a following a statement in March by Qatar's prime minister, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr al-Thani, calling on Mr. Saleh to step down. The president responded by recalling Yemen's ambassador to Qatar and went on to accuse the oil-rich sheikhdom and its state-funded news channel, Al-Jazeera, of "funding chaos in Yemen, Egypt, Syria and throughout the Arab world."

Yemen's official news agency Saba said Friday that Mr. Saleh's party accused Qatar of siding with the protesters and welcomed its withdrawal from the talks.

Despite Qatar's withdrawal, the other council members appear committed to push their Yemeni transition plan, which is backed by the U.S. and the European Union. Council secretary-general Abdullatif al-Zayani is due to arrive in San'a on Saturday to try to resuscitate it after Mr. Saleh suddenly refused to sign the deal last week.

The accord, which was accepted by the opposition, would see Mr. Saleh surrender power within 30 days of signing the deal in exchange for immunity for prosecution for himself and his relatives. It remained unclear whether Mr. Saleh was holding out in the hope of a better deal such as a guaranteed position in a future government or whether he intended to try and ride out the popular demands for his resignation until his term ends in 2013. He has only agreed to resign as leader of the ruling party.

Yemen's youthful protesters, meanwhile, have welcomed Qatar's withdrawal and are calling on the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council to scrap the plan, which they say is merely letting the president buy more time.

"We call on the rest of our brothers in the Gulf to ditch this plan, which is acting as a fig leaf for the regime and shielding it from prosecution despite all the killings" said Adel Al-Surabi, a member of the Civil Coalition of Revolutionary youth.

Source: The Wall Street Journal.
Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703864204576321334194576812.html.

Yemen jets bomb anti-Saleh tribal areas — tribesmen

By REUTERS
May 11, 2011

SANAA: Yemeni air force planes on Tuesday bombed rural areas where tribesmen demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh live, the tribesmen said, a sign that violence gripping the fractious state may be escalating.

The planes bombed an area north of the capital Sanaa where tens of thousands of protesters have been rallying daily to demand an end to Saleh’s nearly 33-year rule. At least four tribesmen were wounded in the raid, a resident said.

Tribesmen told Reuters the Republican Guard, led by Saleh’s son, had been trying to pass through the tribal area en route to the southern coastal province of Hadramout where one of several army units that have defected is based.

The tribesmen have had violent clashes with Saleh’s troops in recent weeks, residents said. The jets stopped bombing after a few hours, tribesmen said, and the Republican Guard agreed with the tribesmen not to send troops to Hadramout.

Opposition sources had complained that troops were being sent to Hadramout to crush protests there.

Many demonstrators across Yemen, who include students, tribesmen and activists, have vowed to stay on the streets until Saleh, who has clung to power despite three months of protests, steps down. At least 154 people have been killed in the unrest.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article393810.ece.

6 killed in south Yemen strike

May 1, 2011

ADEN: Two servicemen and four civilians were killed and at least another 23 were wounded in south Yemen during a shutdown called by anti-government protesters on Saturday, officials said.

The defense ministry said an officer and a soldier were killed and two more soldiers were wounded, but gave no details as tension mounted in the restive region.

Local officials said protesters opened fire on troops as they tried to dismantle roadblocks set up near Al-Mansura neighborhood in Aden to demonstrate against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Two soldiers and a civilian were wounded there, they said. They said troops moved into the area from where they suspected the attack was launched and opened fire, killing at least three civilians and wounding at least another 15 more.

The casualties were taken to a hospital in Aden, a medical source said.

Source: The Times of India.
Link: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-01/middle-east/29493255_1_three-civilians-yemen-defence-ministry.

No deal with Saleh regime: Protesters

By SAEED AL-BATATI | ARAB NEWS
Apr 25, 2011

SANAA: Young Yemeni protesters vowed Monday to resort to more aggressive means to remove President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime and build a democratic country.

Khaled Al-Ansi, a leading member of the organizing committee of the youths who have been protesting on the streets of the capital Sanaa for weeks, told Arab News that they would welcome any initiative from any party either national or international that stipulated the immediate and unconditional end of Saleh's regime.

"We only accept initiatives that ask Saleh to leave at once and without condition. Last Friday was the last chance for him to leave and we have many means to bring him to his knees," Al-Ansi said.

He blamed both the opposition and the government for the current turmoil in a clear sign of a split between the protesters and the opposition following the latter's acceptance of a Gulf Cooperation Council plan under which the president would hand power to his deputy within 30 days of a deal being signed in exchange for immunity from prosecution for Saleh and his sons.

"The problem lies with those two parties (the government and the opposition). They have been engaged in fruitless dialogues for ages that have led the country to this crisis," Al-Ansi said.

He accused the international community of paying lip service to the protesters while the regime killed them with impunity.

Al-Ansi denied news reports that a delegation from the young protesters met with the US ambassador in Sanaa. "We didn't meet the American ambassador. Some ambassadors do like the regime's officials. They meet some rank-and-file members of the revolution and then come to claim that they have negotiated with us."

The hardening of the protesters' stance came as three more demonstrators were killed in the country on Monday. Reuters quoted witnesses as saying security men opened fire to stop protesters marching through the city of Taiz, south of the capital. They were trying to join a pro-democracy rally that would take them past a palace belonging to Saleh. "There were thousands in a march who came from outside Taiz, but the police, army and gunmen in civilian clothes confronted them, opening fire with bullets and tear gas," said Jamil Abdullah, a protest organizer. "They opened fire heavily from every direction."

A woman watching the clash from her balcony was shot dead and medical sources said 25 others were shot and wounded in the town.

Similar clashes broke out in Ibb, where one protester was shot dead and a dozen were wounded by live fire as police tried to break up a march. Security forces also shot dead a protester in the southern province of Al-Baida.

Source: Arab News.
Link: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article372669.ece.

Dozens of protesters wounded, others arrested in clashes with police across Yemen

by Mohamed al-Azaki, Wang Qiuyun

SANAA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of protesters demanding Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh immediately resign were injured Monday when police forces used live ammunition and tear gas to confront them from marching in five Yemeni provinces, including Sanaa, Taiz, Al-Hodayda, Ibb and Aden, protest organizers said.

The escalating tension came a day after the youth-led protesters issued a statement to reject the recent Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan for Saleh to transfer power in exchange for immunity, vowing to step up their protests to force Saleh to leave and prosecute him along with his family members.

The protesters said in a statement Sunday that the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), which accepted the U.S.-backed Gulf initiative, "only represents itself," calling JMP to refrain from engaging in any deal with Saleh and to merge entirely with the protests that seek to ouster Saleh right away and rapidly prosecute his aides.

Dozens of protesters were injured in Sanaa, Al-Hodayda, Ibb and Aden by police live rounds, batons and tear gas. More than 57 were injured in Taiz, seven of them hit by bullets, and at least 10 others were arrested, a protest media organizer named Ali al-Fakih told Xinhua.

The clashes between protesters and armed government backers were still going on in the southern province of Taiz, where a local police official told Xinhua that the protesters were trying to storm into the presidential palace of Taiz during their march.

"This is riot, chaos and coup ... this is not a peaceful demonstration ... they attacked us and they were attempting to break into the presidential palace," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Such accusations were denied by protest organizers, while two eyewitnesses, who asked not to be named, said the march was heading to besiege Saleh's presidential palace in Taiz.

Eyewitnesses said sounds of warplanes could be heard over Taiz.

Elsewhere in southern Ibb province, at least three protesters were injured by police bullets and up to 30 others were wounded by batons and tear gas in clashes during the protest march in Al- Odain street in downtown Ibb, an eyewitness named Mohamed Qasim told Xinhua.

Provinces of Aden, Al-Hodayda and the capital Sanaa also witnessed sporadic clashes Monday, and protest organizers said tens of protesters suffered suffocation because of tear gas.

"In Al-Hodayda, the protesters today removed all pictures and posters of President Saleh," a provincial police official told Xinhua.

Yemen has faced since mid February political crisis ignited by opposition-backed street protests, which undermined the security and stability of the country.

Saleh, who earlier admitted losing control of several provinces, has accepted the recent Gulf plan for transfer power within 30 days, but repeatedly warned of civil war and national split if he is forced to step aside by protesters.

More than 130 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with the security forces since late January. There are also fears that the violence could escalate, as the majority of the country's 23 million people own guns.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/25/c_13845376.htm.

Saleh quits Yemen presidency

Saturday, 23 April 2011

By MUNA KHAN
Al Arabiya with Agencies

President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen has agreed to a proposal by Gulf Arab mediators to step down within 30 days, and hand power to his deputy in exchange for immunity from prosecution, Yemen’s state TV said on Saturday evening.

His imminent departure from office made Mr. Saleh the third key Arab leader to step down in the face of social and political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. The other leaders are Presidents Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia. Mr. Mubarak is under detention at a military hospital in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh; Mr. Ben Ali is reported to be gravely ill in Saudi Arabia.

There were unconfirmed reports early Sunday morning that members of President Saleh’s immediate family have left Sana’a for the United Arab Emirates. It is not inconceivable that an informal arrangement has been made to ensure safe passage for the president’s family to nearby countries.

The protest movement demanding Mr. Saleh’s immediate departure from office said Saturday it also has agreed to the mediators’ proposal but with reservations. It objects to an article that gives parliament the right to reject the president’s resignation.

Members of the 68-year-old Mr. Saleh’s party, the General People’s Congress, dominate the parliament. Mr. Saleh, who has been in power for the last 32 years, steadfastly refused to resign from the presidency in the face of more than two months of massive street protests against his authoritarian rule.

State TV said Saturday evening that Yemen’s foreign minister delivered the government’s acceptance to mediators from the Gulf Cooperation Council earlier on Saturday.

Hours after the government officially accepted the GCC new proposal to tackle the Yemeni crisis, the Joint Meeting Parties, representing the opposition coalition, said it had accepted the Gulf initiative too. 
The coalition held a meeting to discuss the proposal; it backed down from an earlier insistence that Opposition leaders lead a new government.

Instead, a spokesman for the coalition, Muhammad Qahtan, said: “We agreed that the General People’s Congress, the governing party, forms the national unity government from the government, the opposition and other political forces on condition the protests continue on the streets.” Sultan Al-Atwani, Secretary General of the Nasserite Unionist People’s Organization, said that the proposal was to be welcomed in general, but he added that his group needed further clarification regarding the GCC-brokered deal. 


President Saleh seemed predictably bitter in accepting the deal. He warned on Saturday of civil war unless the current crisis was tackled. In a speech to deans, commanders and students of Yemen’s military and security colleges, Mr. Saleh accused his foes of receiving funds from unnamed countries “to incite chaos and oust the regime.”

“The Joint Meeting Parties receive dirty money to topple the government, and those who joined them from the ruling party were agents for the opposition,” Mr. Saleh said. “We are very interested in preventing bloodshed because the Yemeni blood is very precious and the opposition can’t drag us to killing each other. Civil war will not only affect Yemen, but also the whole region and the international security. Change is necessary but through peaceful means and without destruction or sabotage. The demands of the youths, who are on the streets, are the people’s demands and I truly support these demands and suggest that the youth form their own political party.”

The Wall Street Journal broke the story of his resignation on Saturday evening. It quoted a presidential aide, Tariq Shami, as saying, “Though President Saleh has constitutional rights to stay in power, he is willing to leave office willingly.”

In the end, President Saleh had little choice but to yield to pressure from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the two Gulf States most vigorously involved in diplomatic efforts concerning the Yemen crisis. Although Mr. Saleh remained defiant in speeches on Friday, vowing to complete his term until 2013, backdoor diplomacy by Gulf states—worried at the possible gains made by Al-Qaeda network in Yemen—was able to convince Mr. Saleh that he would be accorded a dignified exit, according to The Journal.

Analysts will now eagerly await the opposition’s reaction to this deal as various groups are divided on the controversial clause of the president and his aides receiving any form of immunity from prosecution. While some have agreed to President Saleh handing over power to the vice-president in 30 days and his son and nephew, who hold key positions in the military and national security, handing over their posts within 60 days, it is the youth movement that remains adamant in their stance, The Journal said.

“We the youth of revolution reject any proposal that does not hold Saleh accountable for the killing of more than 140 revolutionary protesters during the street demonstrations this year,” said a statement released by the students’ organizing committee.

Earlier in the day on Saturday, Yemenis boarded up their shops and businesses across the country in protest against the president’s rule.

According to a Reuters witness, up to 90 percent of shops, markets and schools were closed in the southern port city of Aden. There were few pedestrians in the streets and hardly any traffic.

Many businesses were also closed for the day in Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city and an epicenter of opposition to the 69-year-old-president, and Hodeida on the Red Sea.

Yemenis flooded the streets of Sana’a and Taiz on Friday in rival demonstrations for and against Mr. Saleh, who offered guarded approval to a Gulf Arab plan for a three-month transition of power.

The proposal of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) called for Mr. Saleh to hand power to his vice president, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, one month after signing an agreement.

He would appoint an opposition leader to lead an interim cabinet charged with preparing presidential elections two months later, a Yemeni official said on Friday.

The plan, presented on Thursday, also gives immunity from prosecution to Mr. Saleh, his family and aides—anathema to his foes, who would also have to end protests under the proposal.

“We stress that we will hold on to the constitutional legitimacy, in loyalty to our people, as we categorically reject the attempted coups on freedom, democracy, and political pluralism,” Mr. Saleh told regime supporters in Sana’a.

As on past Fridays, a huge rival rally by anti-regime protesters kept up the pressure for Mr. Saleh’s immediate departure on what they branded a “Last Chance Friday.”

A correspondent of Agence-France Presse said the gathering covered a four-kilometer stretch, in what appeared to be the largest anti-Saleh rally since protests erupted in late January.

Yemeni army and police were deployed in force to prevent clashes between the two camps.

Parliamentary opposition groups are still studying the GCC plan, but the spokesman of the Common Forum coalition said that “forming a national unity government while the president is still in office is not accepted.”

“The president’s departure is essential to any solution,” he told AFP.

Many protesters on the streets on Friday dismissed the proposal out of hand.

“Neighboring countries: no negotiations, no dialogue,” read posters carried by demonstrators.

Mr. Saleh has since January faced anti-regime protests calling for his ouster in which more than 130 people have been killed in clashes with security forces and rival demonstrators.

Meanwhile al-Qaeda militants and tribesmen gunned down 13 soldiers in separate attacks in the eastern Marib province.

Another soldier was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the restive southern province of Abyan.

Mr. Saleh’s long-time Gulf and Western allies, concerned that the chaos in Yemen will open more opportunities for ambitious al-Qaeda militants, are trying to broker an orderly transition to the president’s 32-year rule.

Source: al-Arabiya.
Link: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/04/23/146477.html.

Egypt requests Yemen's support for its candidate for Arab League

SANA'A, April 19 (Saba)- Egypt has requested Yemen's support for its candidate Mostafa El Feki for the post of Secretary-General of the Arab League.

This came in the letter of Head of Egypt's Higher Military Council Mohamed Hussein Tantawi to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, which is handed over on Tuesday by Egypt's ambassador to Yemen Ashraf Aql to Caretaker Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi.

During their meeting, al-Qirbi and Aql dealt with the latest developments at the Yemeni arena.

Source: Saba Net.
Link: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news239821.htm.

Yemeni women stage massive protest

Sat Apr 16, 2011

In Yemen, thousands of outraged women have defended their right to protest in the capital and other cities over remarks made by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

President Saleh had earlier said that it was un-Islamic for women to join men in demonstrations against him, Reuters reported.

In response, around 5,000 women took to the streets in Sana'a on Saturday. The protesters, who have filed a complaint against Saleh for disrespecting women's rights, marched from University Square to the office of Attorney General Abdullah al-Olafi.

Similar protests were held in the industrial city of Taizz, south of the capital, Sana'a. Sit-ins were also held there and in the city of Ibb.

Women argue that their participation in the demonstrations is religiously sound, and that the president is exploiting religion after failing to stop the protests through employing tribes and security forces.

The demonstrators continue to call on Saleh to step down after nearly three months of protests. While Saleh says civil war could break out if he steps down before an orderly transition, the protesters say they want him out immediately.

Meanwhile, a local Yemeni newspaper has revealed that Saleh will step down from power in 30 days upon the designation of a new vice president. This is according to a timetable set by the US and EU ambassadors.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175168.html.

Thousands hold anti-govt. rally in Yemen

Sun Apr 17, 2011

Large crowds of Yemeni protesters have held anti-government demonstrations, repeating their call for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

On Sunday, thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, Sana'a, as Yemeni opposition leaders were preparing to discuss power transition in the country with foreign ministers of Persian Gulf Arab nations in Saudi Arabia.

Saleh has already been in office for 32 years with several opposition members arguing that his long-promised reforms have not materialized.

Regular thousands-strong protests have been held in the capital as well as the cities of Aden and Taizz, calling for Saleh's removal and the tackling of corruption and unemployment.

Some 40% of the population lives on USD 2 a day or less in the country, and one third face food shortage.

The protests have been met by riot police or supporters of Saleh armed with knives and batons.

The death toll in the country has surpassed 300 since anti-government protests began in late January.

Last week, the Yemeni opposition rejected an Arab proposal for Saleh passing power to his deputy. The plan appeared to offer the president immunity from prosecution and lacked a clear timetable for his departure.

The opposition wants Saleh gone within weeks. It also wants to keep open the option of prosecuting him.

Protesters remain unwilling to take part in any talks before Saleh resigns.

The president's resignation is "not negotiable," Former Yemeni Foreign Minister Mohammed Basindwa said. "We hope the American and European friends as well as our brothers in the Gulf will support this initiative because there will be no solution without Saleh's departure."

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175288.html.

Poison gas used on Yemeni protesters

Sun Apr 17, 2011

Scores of Yemeni protesters have reportedly suffered injuries and poisoning after the security forces used poison gas to disperse anti-government rallies.

On Sunday, at least 30 people were injured and 40 others intoxicated after the forces gassed the demonstrators in the western city of Dhamar, a Press TV correspondent reported.

in addition, a report said 10 people hwere hurt as Yemeni forces fired at protesters in Sana'a.

Tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters took to the streets of the capital, Sana'a, and the city of Taizz, both located in the west, to call on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in the two cities as well as the city of Aden in the south, calling for Saleh's removal and the tackling of corruption and unemployment.

Some 40% of the population lives on USD 2 a day or less in the country and one third face food shortage.

The protests have been met by riot police or supporters of Saleh armed with knives and batons.

The death toll in the country has surpassed 300 since anti-government protests began in late January.

Also on Sunday, Yemeni women held a second day of protests against Saleh after he described the participation of women in protests “un-Islamic.”

Moreover, thousands gathered for the funeral of a protester who had died from wounds sustained during clashes with the security forces.

Opposition leaders and Arab foreign ministers held a meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss the stalemate in Yemen.

Last week, the opposition rejected an Arab proposal that gave Saleh immunity from prosecution and called on him to pass power to his deputy.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/175290.html.

Saleh loyalists injure 13 protesters

Fri Apr 15, 2011

At least thirteen people have been injured after supporters of the isolated Yemeni president attacked a protest rally in the southern city of Taiz.

The incident took place as millions of anti-government protesters poured into the streets across Yemen on "Friday of Determination," demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh's immediate step down.

In the capital, hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Change Square, calling for an end to Saleh's 32 years grip on power.

Crowds of Saleh loyalists also rallied in Sana'a in support of the embattled President. There were no reports of clashes between pro and anti-government demonstrators in the capital.

The Yemeni president gave a short speech to his supports in which he called himself "Yemen's legitimate leader under the constitution" and repeated his invitation for the opposition to enter a dialogue with the government.

"We call on the opposition to consult their consciences and come to dialogue and reach an agreement for security and stability of the country," Saleh told his supporters in Sana'a.

The opposition, however, has rejected entering talks with the government and has given President Saleh a two-week deadline to step down.

The opposition has also rejected a Saudi-mediated dialogue for transfer of power in Yemen which offers Saleh immunity from prosecution.

Since late January, hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in main Yemeni cities calling for corruption and unemployment to be tackled and demanding President Saleh's ouster.

The protests have been met by riot police or supporters of President Saleh armed with knives and batons.

In a move to appease the opposition, Saleh said he will not seek another term in office in 2013 but has vowed to defend his regime "with every drop of blood."

The protesters, however, rejected his offer calling it too late and are demanding his immediate resignation.

According to local sources, at least 300 people have been killed and many others injured since the beginning of anti-Saleh demonstrations in the country.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/174936.html.

Protests rattle major cities across Yemen

SANAA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Anti-government protests rattled Yemen's major cities on Wednesday after President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents reached another deadlock following the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)'s conciliation plan earlier this week.

At least 17 protesters were injured in clashes with police forces and government backers in Yemen's southern province of Ibb on Wednesday, witnesses said.

"The two sides clashed near Ibb University as protesters demanding an immediate end to the long time rule of Saleh defended themselves by throwing stones," a witness told Xinhua by phone, adding "at least four protesters were wounded by gunshots and were now in hospital."

About 80 km southeast of Ibb, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Al-Bayda province on Wednesday, whose provincial capital city witnessed a civil disobedience for the first time, according to a local official.

Meanwhile, protesters continued their rallies on Wednesday in southern provinces of Dhamar, Taiz, Hadramout and Aden, where at least two protesters were shot dead and dozens of others were wounded in clashes with police.

The ruling party's website said at least two policemen in Aden were injured by gunshots of protesters that belong to the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), adding that the police had arrested three people from the JMP in Taiz on Wednesday outside the headquarters of the ruling party.

Elsewhere, tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in the northern provinces of Saada and Al-Hodeida, as well as the capital city of Sanaa, where protesters on Wednesday marched in streets close to the presidential palace in downtown Sanaa, said a Xinhua reporter, adding no casualties were reported.

Earlier in the day, some 10,000 Yemeni officers and soldiers of the Republican Guard, Central Security and Air Forces in Sanaa, declared defection from the government to join anti-government protesters, an army official attended the event told Xinhua.

The new wave of defectors came hours after a gunfight took place between dissident soldiers and pro-government security forces, leaving at least six dead from both sides.

Yemen has been witnessing daily anti-government protests across major provinces since mid-February, which resulted in a political crisis that undermined security and stability situations in the country.

The president on March 28 said that he has lost control over five provinces, which were seized either by tribesmen or by al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) after the government pulled the police out from some towns of major provinces under the pretext of avoiding friction with protesters.

Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/14/c_13827656.htm.

Yemen mourns, buries democracy martyrs

SANA'A, March 20 (Saba) - Hundreds of thousands walked in the funeral procession of the protesters who were killed on Friday outside Sana'a University in regrettable events.

The bodies of the 52 protesters were covered by the national flag and buried near the incident site at noon after the people prayed upon them.

Yemen mourned today the democracy martyrs, wishing their souls rest in peace.

The national flag was flown at half-mast at the public institutions in various governorates.

The National Defense Council at his meeting on Friday formed a panel to investigate the killings and bring those involved to justice.

Source: Saba Net.
Link: http://www.sabanews.net/en/news238097.htm.

Government Wants To Bring Back Malaysian In Yemen - Anifah

KOTA KINABALU, March 13 (Bernama) -- The government wants to bring back 443 Malaysians who are in Sanaa and Eden in Yemen following the turmoil in the country worsening, said Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman.

He said the government was following closely developments in Yemen and that his ministry had submitted a report to the government on what needed to be done.

"We will bring Malaysians in Sanaa and Eden home directly because the situation in the two cities has become worrying, However, the security situation in other areas in Yemen are still under control," he told reporters here Sunday.

Meanwhile, Anifah said as of 1.30pm today (Malaysian time), Malaysia's embassy in Tokyo had been able to contact 544 Malaysians living in the worst hit areas of Japan's twin earthquake and tsunami disaster and that all of them were safe.

He said they were reported to have been moved to safety shelters by the Japanese authorities.

He said 298 Malaysian students living in the same areas were also reported to be safe and that the government had no plans to bring them home for now.

He added that a total of 5,009 Malaysians were registered with the embassy of whom 2,100 were students.

-- BERNAMA

Source: Bernama.
Link: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=570696.

Yemen protesters threaten students in south: UNICEF

By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA | Tue Mar 8, 2011

(Reuters) - Anti-government demonstrators in south Yemen are threatening to burn down schools if teachers and students do not join their protests in the port city of Aden, the U.N. children's fund UNICEF said Tuesday.

Daily protests have swept Yemen for over a month, as tens of thousands of demonstrators demand the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade rule over the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state.

"Yesterday's confirmed reports ... tell of a number of schools in al-Mansoura and al-Mualla (districts in Aden) being attacked by demonstrators," UNICEF said in a statement.

"Reportedly, children and teachers were threatened and told if they would not leave the schools and join the protest, they (the schools) would be burned down. Gun shots were heard in the area."

UNICEF communications officer Mohammed Al Asaadi, who is based in Sanaa, told Reuters he knew of two schools being threatened and said many children in Aden were now being kept at home by their parents.

"Some schools were already closed down because parents did not want their kids to go to school in anticipation of violence or attacks on schools," he said, speaking by phone.

The reported threats on schools were the first of their kind since unrest hit Yemen in January, with protesters galvanized by successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

But schools have been targeted in previous disturbances in Yemen. Last May, UNICEF reported that gunmen had seized schools in north Yemen despite an uneasy truce between Shi'ite Muslim rebels and the government.

Saleh, a U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, was struggling to maintain stability even before the latest protests broke out. He has been trying to sustain a ceasefire with northern rebels while also seeking to curb a secessionist rebellion in the south.

In Aden, once the capital of an independent southern state, several children have been wounded and killed in this year's troubles, Asaadi said. In all, an estimated 27 people have died across Yemen in the protests.

"UNICEF is concerned about the safety of these children and their access to basic rights such as education and health services," he said.

(Writing by Erika Solomon; editing by Crispian Balmer and Sonya Hepinstall)

Source: Reuters.
Link: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/08/us-yemen-schools-idUSTRE72720220110308.

Yemeni envoys urge Saleh to resign

Mon Mar 21, 2011

Five Yemeni ambassadors to European states have called on embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, the country's envoy to France says.

The ambassadors to Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Berlin and London as well as the Yemeni consul in Frankfurt "sent a message to President Saleh urging him to respond to the demands of the people and resign to avert bloodshed," Khaled al-Akwaa said.

He added that the Yemeni ambassador to Cuba was also one of the signatories, AFP reported.

The envoys join a host of senior Yemeni officials who have either resigned from their posts or voiced support for protesters demanding Saleh's ouster.

Several military commanders have joined the opposition while Yemen's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Ali al-Ahwal has voiced support for protesters.

Yemeni deputy parliament speaker and the governor of the southern province of Aden along with the country's ambassadors to Syria, Japan and the UN have also stepped down.

More than 50 people have been killed and scores of others wounded during armed attacks by Saleh loyalists since the beginning of the popular revolution in January.

Top Yemeni tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar also joined a number of influential Yemeni clerics who have called on Saleh to meet the demands of protesters and end his decades-long rule to avoid further violence and bloodshed.

Late on Sunday, President Saleh sacked his entire government amid continued pressure from the oppression-weary public. He, however, did not show any sign that he would meet the protesters' demand and step down.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171069.html.

Yemen envoy to KSA backs protesters

Mon Mar 21, 2011

Yemen's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Ali al-Ahwal has voiced support for protesters, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Ahwal expressed his support for protesters on Monday, following the brutal crackdown on demonstrators which has left dozens of people dead so far. However, it was not immediately clear whether he was leaving his post or resigning.

Earlier in the day, Yemen's ambassador to Syria resigned from his post as well as from Saleh's ruling party to show solidarity with protesters.

The governor of Yemen's southern province of Aden, Ahmed Qaatabi, also resigned on Monday to protest the violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations, an official in his office said.

Yemeni deputy parliament speaker, Himyar al-Ahmar, along with the country's ambassador to Japan, Marwan al-Nu'aman, and the UN, Abdullah Alsaidi, have also stepped down.

The developments come as scores of Yemeni military and civilian leaders have been defecting to the opposition side.

Scores of people have been killed and wounded during armed attacks by Saleh loyalists since the beginning of the popular revolution in January.

Top Yemeni tribal leader Sadiq al-Ahmar also joined a number of influential Yemeni clerics who have called on Saleh to meet the demands of protesters and end his decades-long rule to avoid further violence and bloodshed.

“I announce in the name of all the members of my tribe that I am joining the revolution," Ahmar, the leader of the Hashid tribal confederation, the largest in Yemen, told Al-Jazeera television on Monday.

Late on Sunday, President Saleh sacked his entire government amid continued pressure from the oppression-weary public. He, however, did not show any sign that he would heed protesters' demand and step down.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171051.html.

Houthis make gains in northern Yemen

Mon Mar 21, 2011

Yemeni Houthi fighters are now in control of the northern province of Sa'ada following clashes with security forces which left at 20 people dead.

The fighters have also clashed with Yemeni government forces in the neighboring province of al-Jawf, local sources said.

"Fighting between Shia rebels, Yemeni troops and their tribal allies killed 20 people in the north" AFP quoted the sources as saying on Monday.

The Shia Houthi fighters, who have fought the Yemeni regime for their rights, have been frequently pounded by Yemeni fighter jets and helicopter gunships.

The fighting broke out on Monday after Yemeni troops tried to retake the control of a strategic military installation near the northern province of Al-Jawf, which the Houthi fighters had taken over.

The Yemeni government launched Operation Scorched Earth in 2007 to uproot the Houthis, whom Sana'a accuses of seeking to restore the Zaydi imamate rule, overthrown in a 1962 coup.

The fresh clashes came as thousands of protesters across the country have been calling for the ouster of embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh since mid-January. Dozens have been killed and hundreds more wounded during anti-government protests.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171018.html.

Top Yemeni general joins protesters

Mon Mar 21, 2011

A top general has joined anti-government protesters in Yemen, as political crisis in the country has exacerbated following the recent brutal crackdown on the popular uprising.

In a televised message on Monday, Gen. Ali Mohsen expressed his support for anti-government protesters.

Mohsen, however, has not announced his resignation, AFP reported.

This comes after Yemeni ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh sacked his entire government on Sunday amid persisting protests by the oppression-weary public that has staged a revolution against his regime.

Saleh has vowed to form a new government soon and has instructed the current cabinet, which was headed by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar, to act as a caretaker and run daily operations until a new government is formed.

In a move to put pressure on president Saleh to give up power, the governor of southern province of Aden also stepped down on Monday.

Amid a slew of defections to the opposition by Yemeni military and civilian leaders, Ahmed Qaatabi resigned "to protest what is happening in the county," said a Yemeni official on condition of anonymity.

Also on Sunday, crowds swarmed the square near the Sana'a University, commemorating 52 people that died on Friday in an attack by the military's snipers.

Protest rallies have been raging on since January, blaming the Saleh regime for trampling upon the rights of the people.

Since the beginning of the popular revolution, scores of people have been killed and hundreds more wounded during armed attacks by Saleh's loyalists.

Meanwhile, a number of influential Yemeni clerics on Sunday called on Saleh to appease the demands of protesters and end his decades-old rule to avoid further violence and bloodshed.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171022.html.

Yemen ambassador to Lebanon resigns

Sat Mar 19, 2011

The Yemeni ambassador to Lebanon has resigned in protest at the Sana'a-ordered crackdown on anti-government protesters that recently left 52 people dead and many more injured.

The move by Faisal Amin Abu al-Ras marked the first by a Yemeni envoy in protest at Friday's violence used by the government forces against the protesters in the capital, DPA reported.

Many of the victims were shot in the head and neck by snipers, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Twenty-Seven parliamentarians and 47 members of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling General People Congress party have already stepped down, joining the protesters' camp.

The protests started in January, calling for the ouster of the regime since January.

Since the beginning of the popular uprising up to the Friday bloodshed, dozens of people were killed and hundreds more wounded during the armed attacks by the loyalists to the government.

The United Nations has condemned the aggression on the peaceful demonstrators.

Saleh has already been in office for 32 years with several opposition members arguing that his long-promised reforms have not taken place.

Despite the countrywide rallies, the head of state has said he would remain in power until the end of his term in 2013.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170781.html.