Monday, 17 October 2011
Medics carry an anti-government protester injured in clashes with supporters of Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh during demonstration demanding his ouster in Sana’a. (Photo by Reuters)
Eight Yemenis were killed in a new upsurge in violence in the capital Sana’a on Sunday, an Al Arabiya correspondent said. The al-Hasba neighborhood in Sana’a was the scene of the most violent clashes since the eruption of the armed struggle between President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s loyalists and his opponents, the correspondent added. “Five people were killed in al-Hasba and scores of others were injured,” he said.
Three people were killed when a mortar shell landed in a field clinic at Change Square in Sana’a and the Yemeni state TV building was also hit. A brother of the tribal leader Saghir bin Ali, loyal to Saleh, was among the people killed, according to the Al Arabiya report.
Some friendly states, permanent members of the (Security Council) such as China and Russia, will not take a hardline position like some other permanent members 
We will continue with our protests... even if thousands of our youth are killed. This is the only way to ensure the fall of the regime
Three people were killed when a mortar shell landed in a field clinic at Change Square in Sana’a and the Yemeni state TV building was also hit. A brother of the tribal leader Saghir bin Ali, loyal to Saleh, was among the people killed, according to the Al Arabiya report.
Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, says he will step down only if his powerful rivals are not allowed to remain in power. (Photo by Reuters)
Amid violence which took the death toll in two days to at least 20 people, President Saleh said he expected China and Russia to block U.N. moves to end his rule.
The two countries joined forces to veto a European-sponsored resolution against Syria earlier this month but were not expected to block the resolution on Saleh which is due to go to the Security Council this week, diplomats in New York have said.
Witnesses said security forces attacked the protesters when they tried to enter Zubayri Street, which lies between areas controlled by government forces and dissident general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, according to Reuters.
Residents said the authorities feared protesters could block off the street, a major throughway for traffic.
Violence in Yemen, strategically located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has surged over the last two days, with security forces killing at least 12 on Saturday while al-Qaeda insurgents blew up a gas pipeline, halting the impoverished nation’s gas exports.
U.N. Security Council members are considering a resolution expected to urge Saleh to hand over power under a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) peace plan.
The two countries joined forces to veto a European-sponsored resolution against Syria earlier this month but were not expected to block the resolution on Saleh which is due to go to the Security Council this week, diplomats in New York have said.
Witnesses said security forces attacked the protesters when they tried to enter Zubayri Street, which lies between areas controlled by government forces and dissident general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, according to Reuters.
Residents said the authorities feared protesters could block off the street, a major throughway for traffic.
Violence in Yemen, strategically located at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has surged over the last two days, with security forces killing at least 12 on Saturday while al-Qaeda insurgents blew up a gas pipeline, halting the impoverished nation’s gas exports.
U.N. Security Council members are considering a resolution expected to urge Saleh to hand over power under a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) peace plan.
Ensuring the country is in safe hands
Some friendly states, permanent members of the (Security Council) such as China and Russia, will not take a hardline position like some other permanent members President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Saleh says he is ready to step down but wants to ensure that control of the country is put in safe hands.
“Some friendly states, permanent members of the (Security Council) such as China and Russia, will not take a hardline position like some other permanent members,” Saleh said in comments broadcast on Yemeni state television.
Speaking at a meeting of his security and military chiefs in Sana’a, he said Western permanent members of the Security Council based their decisions on information gathered solely from the opposition.
“They consider the opposition as being aggrieved and that it should be supported,” he said.
According to a Yemeni foreign ministry official, the Gulf Cooperation Council, which initiated the power transfer deal, has turned down a request by Saleh to make changes to the deal to enable him to stay in power until 2013. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, The Associated Press reported.
In his speech, Saleh described the opposition as “insane (people) who can't sleep and only want to take power.”
Witnesses said snipers on rooftops opened fire on the crowd of tens of thousands of protesters, marching through the streets to call for Saleh’s resignation.
Loyalist forces of the Republican Guard, a unit led by Saleh’s son Ahmed, also lobbed tear gas at the demonstrators.
“Some friendly states, permanent members of the (Security Council) such as China and Russia, will not take a hardline position like some other permanent members,” Saleh said in comments broadcast on Yemeni state television.
Speaking at a meeting of his security and military chiefs in Sana’a, he said Western permanent members of the Security Council based their decisions on information gathered solely from the opposition.
“They consider the opposition as being aggrieved and that it should be supported,” he said.
According to a Yemeni foreign ministry official, the Gulf Cooperation Council, which initiated the power transfer deal, has turned down a request by Saleh to make changes to the deal to enable him to stay in power until 2013. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, The Associated Press reported.
In his speech, Saleh described the opposition as “insane (people) who can't sleep and only want to take power.”
Witnesses said snipers on rooftops opened fire on the crowd of tens of thousands of protesters, marching through the streets to call for Saleh’s resignation.
Loyalist forces of the Republican Guard, a unit led by Saleh’s son Ahmed, also lobbed tear gas at the demonstrators.
“Ignorant man”
We will continue with our protests... even if thousands of our youth are killed. This is the only way to ensure the fall of the regime Walid al-Ammari, a spokesman for the protesters
In a statement, al-Ahmar described Saleh as “the ignorant man who does nothing but killings,” according to AP.
Britain has been drafting the resolution in consultation with France and the United States and intends to circulate it to the full 15-nation Security Council shortly after a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
Yemeni officials have said the attack on the pipeline on Saturday was in retaliation for the killing of the head of the media department of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in an air raid on militant outposts in Yemen last week.
The pro-democracy activists, who have been demonstrating since January to bring an end to Saleh’s 33-year rule, voiced defiance ahead of Sunday’s march.
“We will continue with our protests... even if thousands of our youth are killed,” said Walid al-Ammari, a spokesman for the protesters. “This is the only way to ensure the fall of the regime,” he told AFP.
In a separate protest in the flashpoint city of Taez, south of the capital, one woman was killed when government troops opened fire on demonstrators also calling for Saleh’s resignation, according to medical officials.
Aziza Uthman Ghaleb, 21, was killed by sniper fire, making her the first female to die while marching in an anti-government protest since January.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which shares a border with Yemen, fear al-Qaeda is trying to take advantage of the country's political vacuum to expand its territory in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, near a strategic shipping strait used by tankers carrying some 3 million barrels of oil a day.
Saleh returned to Yemen on Sept. 23 after three months in Saudi Arabia, where he received medical treatment following a rocket attack on his compound in the capital.
Demonstrations began in the Arab world’s poorest country at the end of January, inspired by revolts that ousted the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and sent Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi on the run. They deepened as military and tribal leaders joined the opposition.
Britain has been drafting the resolution in consultation with France and the United States and intends to circulate it to the full 15-nation Security Council shortly after a closed-door meeting on Tuesday.
Yemeni officials have said the attack on the pipeline on Saturday was in retaliation for the killing of the head of the media department of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in an air raid on militant outposts in Yemen last week.
The pro-democracy activists, who have been demonstrating since January to bring an end to Saleh’s 33-year rule, voiced defiance ahead of Sunday’s march.
“We will continue with our protests... even if thousands of our youth are killed,” said Walid al-Ammari, a spokesman for the protesters. “This is the only way to ensure the fall of the regime,” he told AFP.
In a separate protest in the flashpoint city of Taez, south of the capital, one woman was killed when government troops opened fire on demonstrators also calling for Saleh’s resignation, according to medical officials.
Aziza Uthman Ghaleb, 21, was killed by sniper fire, making her the first female to die while marching in an anti-government protest since January.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia, which shares a border with Yemen, fear al-Qaeda is trying to take advantage of the country's political vacuum to expand its territory in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, near a strategic shipping strait used by tankers carrying some 3 million barrels of oil a day.
Saleh returned to Yemen on Sept. 23 after three months in Saudi Arabia, where he received medical treatment following a rocket attack on his compound in the capital.
Demonstrations began in the Arab world’s poorest country at the end of January, inspired by revolts that ousted the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and sent Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi on the run. They deepened as military and tribal leaders joined the opposition.
No comments:
Post a Comment