By Nasser Arrabyee,01/10/2011
Yemeni father demanded the dead body of his son to bury him after he was killed in a US drone attack with three others as terrorists in eastern Yemen, said tribal leaders on Saturday.
Dr Nasser Al Awlaki, father of the slain Anwar Al Awlaki,phone-called the tribal leaders of Al Jawaf, where his was killed,that he and all Al Awlaki tribal leaders would come to take the remnants of their son.
However, tribal leaders said that the remnants of the four slain terrorists were taken by Al Qaeda elements and not by the local tribesmen immediately after the drone attack of Friday in Al Jawf province.
" It's Al Qaeda elements who took the remnants and buried them not us, and they disappeared before the local tribesmen came to the site," said the tribal leader Abdullah Al Jamili,one of the tribal leaders who received phone calls from Al Awlaki's father.
"Dr Nasser Al Awlaki called us today saying he is coming with all his tribesmen to take the remnants of his son," said Al Jamili.
"he said he wants to bury his son on his way," he added.
On Friday September 30th, 2011, An American drone strike in Yemen killed al-Qaeda's leading propagandist and other top leaders of its Arabian operations dealing a massive blow to the branch of the terror organisation regarded as the greatest threat to Western security.
The deaths of Anwar al-Awlaki, Samir Khan and three senior associates were hailed by Barack Obama as a "major blow" to al-Qaeda's most active affiliate since the killing of Osama bin Laden and several other figures in the group's core.
"This is another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al-Qaeda," he said.
Awlaki "repeatedly called on individuals in the United States and around the globe to kill innocent men, women and children to advance a murderous agenda", he claimed.
The US president said America had worked with Yemen for a long time tracking Awlaki, but declined to comment on his role in the killing of the American-born militant.
Five bodies were recovered from the site and Western officials believe al-Qaeda's master bombmaker in the Arabian Peninsula may also have been killed.
Awlaki, 40, was the first American citizen targeted by his own government in the absence of criminal charges.
As a charismatic spokesman for the terrorists, who spoke fluent English, he inspired attacks against the West by inspiring "lone wolf" operators.
He was killed by a Hellfire missile fired from an unmanned drone while travelling with fellow terrorists near Khasaf, a desert town in Jawf province, 87 miles east of the capital Sana'a.
Samir Khan, an American citizen of Pakistani origin who edited al-Qaeda's online magazine Inspire, was described as "irreplaceable" in the short term.
Reports last night said the bomb maker Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri was also killed in the vehicle. If confirmed, it would mean the foreign operations of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) had been wiped out.
American officials said the strike was the product of a "joint intelligence operation" with the Yemeni government, which exerts only partial control over the tribal hinterland outside Sana'a.
There were suggestions that Awlaki had moved to a new region and informants provided the crucial intelligence.
Officials in Washington said there had been a round-the-clock surveillance operation on Awlaki since a drone strike missed its target recently.
After his vehicle "drove through" a strike in September, a team drawn up from the CIA and the Joint Special Operations Command had followed him.
The same officials that planned and carried out the attack on Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, were involved in tracking and closing in on the AQAP leadership. One tribal chief in the area said US aircraft had been patrolling Marib for the past few days.
One witness said Awlaki and his associates had been eating dates on a break in the journey just before the attack.
"US planes have been overhead for days now," a resident said. "Then this morning at about 9:30 what appeared to be a US aircraft fired on the two cars Awlaki and his fellow operatives are believed to have been travelling in."
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, of Yemen, returned to Sana'a after a lengthy stay in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
American politicians united to celebrate the death of the "American jihadist" who posed a unique challenge to the place of his birth.
"For the past several years, Awlaki has been more dangerous even than Osama bin Laden had been," said Peter King, Republican House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Chairman. "The killing of Awlaki is a tremendous tribute to President Obama and the men and women of our intelligence community,"
Mr Obama authorised the US military to target Awlaki last year, a controversial and legally fraught move in light of his US citizenship.
Awlaki inspired several attacks, including the 2009 Christmas underwear bomber, an attack in Fort Hood military base by a US army major and the stabbing of Stephen Timms, the MP for East Ham.
Members of his former mosque in Virginia said Awlaki appeared to have embraced al Qaeda while he lived in Britain between 2003 and 2006 before moving to Yemen.
Ron Paul, a Republican presidential candidate, said the execution of an American citizen on the battlefield set a bad precedent.
One official said Awlaki was involved in the printer bomb packages found at East Midlands airport last year.
The Yemeni outfit had developed bombs that contained no metal and were so hard to detect that police missed the material on first inspection.
To distract police, Awlaki put a copy of Great Expectations in the packages. His finger prints were found on the book.
Nigel Inkster, a former deputy head of MI6, said Awlaki "was the ideologue of al-Qaeda".
"He was very influential because he able to groom and animate so many," he said. "While everyone else in al-Qaeda was dumbstruck by the Arab Spring, he was the one person able to embrace the tsunami that hit the region."
Awlaki's family is well-known in Yemen and his father is a former agriculture minister. Lawyers for Nasser al-Awlaki last year petitioned an American judge for an injunction against the kill order but the case was dismissed.
Awlaki is a former imam of mosques frequented by September 11 hijackers in Denver, San Diego and Virginia.
Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Centre in Virginia where he preached condemned Awlaki's death.
"We have rejected the use of extrajudicial assassination of any human being and especially an American citizen which includes al-Awlaqi," it said.
Saturday, 1 October 2011
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Opposition refusal of solution would lead to civil war, minister
Source: AP,28/09/2011
UNITED NATIONS — Yemen’s foreign minister on Tuesday said the opposition’s refusal to accept the results of the 2006 presidential election was to blame for the unrest in the country and warned that, unchecked, the tension could escalate into a civil war.
Abu Bakr al-Qidri also told the United Nations General Assembly that President Ali Abdullah Saleh remains committed to a U.S.-backed Gulf Cooperation Council initiative as a means to resolving a crisis that has left hundreds dead over the past seven months in the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The foreign minister’s remarks spoke a day after the U.N. Security Council urged all sides in Yemen to reject violence and take urgent steps toward a political transition, offering its support for the GCC plan that calls on Saleh to resign and hand over power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Saleh — who returned recently from Saudi Arabia where he was recovering from injuries sustained months earlier during a rocket attack on a mosque in which he was praying — has said before that he intends to sign the deal, only to back away from the move at the last minute.
Al-Qidri said that the opposition groups, realizing that they were not going to get into office through the ballot box after the 2006 presidential elections, “turned to maneuvers, including violence, that threaten (to lead to) the outbreak of civil war and devastating conflicts in Yemen.”
“The opposition powers used the tidal wave of change being witnessed by Arab countries to prevent Yemen from achieving democratic change through elections,” he said. “However, we respected the demands of the youth and we started a dialogue with them in order to respond to their request” for reform.
Human Rights Watch said the speech “flies in the face of reality.”
“If they are serious about upholding human rights, the Yemeni authorities should stop security forces from shooting peaceful protesters, allow an international inquiry into the bloodshed, and let the United Nations establish a human rights monitoring office in Yemen,” the organization said in a statement.
Al-Qidri said that Yemen “adheres to the initiative by the GCC as a foundation for (resolving) the political crisis,” adding that Saleh has asked the vice president to work with the Gulf states to “achieve a mechanism in order to guarantee a smooth and democratic transition of power.”
The remarks echoed those of Saleh who, in his first public speech since his return, said on Sunday that those who are “chasing power” should go to the polls instead of the streets.
Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 33 years, has come under tremendous and mounting pressure from street protests and neighboring Arab nations to transfer power.
In his televised address, he said he was committed to the deal drafted by the GCC, which includes Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia, but his opponents dismissed his offer as a stalling tactic to allow him to consolidate his hold on power.
The mass protests that rolled into Yemen after taking root and ousting the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt have been particularly devastating for the impoverished nation.
Al-Qidri said the country had lost over $2 billion in the months since the protests began — a hefty sum for a nation with few resources aside from limited quantities of oil on which it relies on for revenue.
In addition, the Arabian Peninsula country, which was united in 1990 after a grueling war between the south and the north, is grappling with the influence of al-Qaida.
The terror group has capitalized on the deteriorating security and the ongoing conflict to make bold grabs for power in several regions, including capturing entire towns. Its presence and ability to operate relatively freely in Yemen is a source of major concern for the United States as several nearly successful terror plots against the U.S. have originated in Yemen.
Saleh was seen as a key, if somewhat unreliable, ally by Washington in its fight against terrorism and al-Qidri referenced the concerns about terrorism in calling on the international community to help Yemen through a “comprehensive global strategy” that would build the country’s “national capacities so as to fight extremism and terrorist ideology.”
He said such a plan did not hinge on military action, but on helping the country with political, social and economic efforts that could address some of the key factors that contribute to the rise of extremism. That would include, presumably, dealing with youth unemployment that, in Yemen, stands at over 35 percent.
UNITED NATIONS — Yemen’s foreign minister on Tuesday said the opposition’s refusal to accept the results of the 2006 presidential election was to blame for the unrest in the country and warned that, unchecked, the tension could escalate into a civil war.
Abu Bakr al-Qidri also told the United Nations General Assembly that President Ali Abdullah Saleh remains committed to a U.S.-backed Gulf Cooperation Council initiative as a means to resolving a crisis that has left hundreds dead over the past seven months in the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The foreign minister’s remarks spoke a day after the U.N. Security Council urged all sides in Yemen to reject violence and take urgent steps toward a political transition, offering its support for the GCC plan that calls on Saleh to resign and hand over power to his vice president in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Saleh — who returned recently from Saudi Arabia where he was recovering from injuries sustained months earlier during a rocket attack on a mosque in which he was praying — has said before that he intends to sign the deal, only to back away from the move at the last minute.
Al-Qidri said that the opposition groups, realizing that they were not going to get into office through the ballot box after the 2006 presidential elections, “turned to maneuvers, including violence, that threaten (to lead to) the outbreak of civil war and devastating conflicts in Yemen.”
“The opposition powers used the tidal wave of change being witnessed by Arab countries to prevent Yemen from achieving democratic change through elections,” he said. “However, we respected the demands of the youth and we started a dialogue with them in order to respond to their request” for reform.
Human Rights Watch said the speech “flies in the face of reality.”
“If they are serious about upholding human rights, the Yemeni authorities should stop security forces from shooting peaceful protesters, allow an international inquiry into the bloodshed, and let the United Nations establish a human rights monitoring office in Yemen,” the organization said in a statement.
Al-Qidri said that Yemen “adheres to the initiative by the GCC as a foundation for (resolving) the political crisis,” adding that Saleh has asked the vice president to work with the Gulf states to “achieve a mechanism in order to guarantee a smooth and democratic transition of power.”
The remarks echoed those of Saleh who, in his first public speech since his return, said on Sunday that those who are “chasing power” should go to the polls instead of the streets.
Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 33 years, has come under tremendous and mounting pressure from street protests and neighboring Arab nations to transfer power.
In his televised address, he said he was committed to the deal drafted by the GCC, which includes Gulf powerhouse Saudi Arabia, but his opponents dismissed his offer as a stalling tactic to allow him to consolidate his hold on power.
The mass protests that rolled into Yemen after taking root and ousting the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt have been particularly devastating for the impoverished nation.
Al-Qidri said the country had lost over $2 billion in the months since the protests began — a hefty sum for a nation with few resources aside from limited quantities of oil on which it relies on for revenue.
In addition, the Arabian Peninsula country, which was united in 1990 after a grueling war between the south and the north, is grappling with the influence of al-Qaida.
The terror group has capitalized on the deteriorating security and the ongoing conflict to make bold grabs for power in several regions, including capturing entire towns. Its presence and ability to operate relatively freely in Yemen is a source of major concern for the United States as several nearly successful terror plots against the U.S. have originated in Yemen.
Saleh was seen as a key, if somewhat unreliable, ally by Washington in its fight against terrorism and al-Qidri referenced the concerns about terrorism in calling on the international community to help Yemen through a “comprehensive global strategy” that would build the country’s “national capacities so as to fight extremism and terrorist ideology.”
He said such a plan did not hinge on military action, but on helping the country with political, social and economic efforts that could address some of the key factors that contribute to the rise of extremism. That would include, presumably, dealing with youth unemployment that, in Yemen, stands at over 35 percent.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Yemen Old Rivalries Hijacked Revolution
Source : HRW Foreign Affairs,
By Letta Tayler,27/09/2011
Last week in Yemen, in the worst bloodshed since anti-government rallies began in January, attacks by government security forces against peaceful protesters devolved into armed clashes in the heart of the capital. Although the spasm of violence looked like the latest case of a brutal government suppressing demonstrators as part of the Arab Spring, it was propelled by an internal power struggle that had percolated for several years – and that took a complicated new twist with the surprise return of the country's wounded president on Friday.
A popular uprising has indeed gripped Yemen for months now, but the movement has been hijacked by three elite factions vying for control of the government. President Ali Abdullah Saleh's impromptu return may simply harden the battle lines, plunging the country into civil war. Since arriving in Sanaa, the president has continued to sidestep accelerating international demands for his immediate resignation and has accused his opponents of supporting al Qaeda.
Initially inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, students and other protesters began taking to the streets in cities across Yemen in January. They demanded greater democratic freedoms, an end to corruption and poverty, and the resignation of Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 33 years. They are the public faces of the movement – and they are also the primary victims of the violence the government has unleashed in response. State security forces and pro-government assailants have killed at least 225 protesters and bystanders during largely peaceful demonstrations, with dozens left dead in recent days alone.
Had influential governments such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia moved swiftly, they might have pressured Saleh to heed the protesters' calls. Instead, the international community dithered as Saleh feigned interest in a deal to step down from power. By June, when Saleh was badly wounded by an assassination attempt and fled to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, the world's attention was already turning to uprisings in Libya, Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere. Yemen's pro-democracy protests became overshadowed by a power play among the three top contenders to run the country: General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar, a renegade army commander who was once the president's confidant; Hamid al-Ahmar (no relation), a billionaire entrepreneur from the prominent Hashid tribe; and Saleh's eldest son, Ahmed, who leads the elite Republican Guard.
General al-Ahmar and Hamid al-Ahmar threw their weight behind the protest movement early on: the general with his soldiers, and the businessman, by many media accounts, with his wallet. Yet it should be said that both men are entrenched in the very power structure that the protesters hope to uproot. Fending them off during the president's nearly four-month convalescence in Riyadh was Ahmed Saleh, whose Republican Guard has led many of the attacks on largely peaceful protesters. The onetime heir apparent to his father, Ahmed Saleh is an old rival of General al-Ahmar.
This internecine battle of the elites has not just displaced the grassroots coalition of young people and activists whose demonstrations first put pressure on Saleh; it has also sidelined Yemen's weak but functional political parties and parliament, as well as its resilient civil-society movement – all of which are potential building blocks for a new, democratic Yemen. And the infighting has further challenged central authority in a country where the writ of law already runs shallow and al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has found safe haven.
General al-Ahmar, who is related by marriage to the president, helped Saleh win a 1994 civil war against southern Yemen before leading the government's brutal six-year war, which began a decade later, against the Huthis, a Shia rebel group in the north. It was during the latter campaign that he developed a rivalry with Ahmed Saleh, who was already eyeing the presidency.
According to a U.S. Embassy cable released by Wikileaks, Yemeni generals in 2009 told their Saudi counterparts who had joined the fight against the Huthis to bomb a site that turned out to be General al-Ahmar's base. But the Saudi pilots became suspicious and aborted the strike. (It is widely believed that the general, along with his rivals in the Ahmar clan, are clients of Saudi Arabia, which wields vast influence in Yemen.)
General al-Ahmar defected to the anti-Saleh movement with his powerful First Armored Division in March, after pro-government snipers fired on a peaceful protest in Sanaa, killing at least 49 people. The general said he left to protest the bloodbath, but critics viewed the move as opportunistic. Since then, his soldiers have ringed the demonstrators' camp at "Change Square" outside Sanaa university to protect the protesters from attacks by the Republican Guard and Central Security, a paramilitary force led by the president's nephew, General Yahya Mohammed Abdullah Saleh.
For months, General al-Ahmar limited the role of his First Armored Division to protecting the protesters, but that changed September 18, when security forces again attacked demonstrators who, increasingly frustrated by months of political impasse, tried to march beyond their protected sit-in area. Witnesses said Central Security forces hosed the marchers with sewage, the marchers threw rocks in return, and security forces and snipers responded with gunfire. The attacks spawned street fights, and soon both the general's soldiers and the tribal fighters of the al-Ahmar clan were battling government forces, including Ahmed Saleh's Republican Guard.
Saleh was able to keep the rivalry with Hamid al-Ahmar in check until the 2007 death of Sheikh Abdullah al-Ahmar, the clan's patriarch. Sheikh Abdullah was Yemen's paramount sheikh in a country where tribes are integral to the power structure; he also was speaker of Parliament and head of Islah, the largest opposition party. Islah espouses an Islamist ideology but includes an array of tribes, businessmen, and political moderates. Sheikh Abdullah developed a complex power-sharing arrangement with Saleh, brokering deals between the president and sheikhs within the Hashid confederation, of which the president's Sanhan tribe is a part. But the sheikh's ten sons had their own agendas.
Sadiq, the eldest, took over from his father as chief of the Hashid. Another son, Himyar, was a member of the ruling party and the deputy speaker of parliament. Hamid, a member of Islah who wears an ornate jambiya, the traditional Yemeni dagger, thrust into his belt, is a billionaire with interests in a cell phone network, Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises, and media outlets. He has made no secret of his political ambitions.
In fact, Hamid al-Ahmar's dreams of unseating Saleh may have begun well before the Arab Spring. In a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks,] a U.S. Embassy official in Sanaa describes meeting Hamid in 2009 and hearing of his plan to organize mass protests to unseat Saleh, modeled after the 1998 uprisings that helped topple Indonesian President Suharto. "The idea is controlled chaos," the cable quoted Hamid as saying.
The first clashes between tribal fighters of the al-Ahmar clan and government forces erupted in May, after Saleh for a third time backed out of a deal to leave office. The accord, brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council and backed by the United States and the European Union, offered the president and his family immunity from prosecution in exchange for his resignation.
Saleh's forces then attacked the al-Ahmar clan's compound in Sanaa, setting off days of armed clashes. On June 3, an explosion inside the presidential palace gravely wounded Saleh, prompting his flight to Saudi Arabia. But he refused to relinquish power. His son Ahmed moved into the presidential palace, where he assumed de facto power until his father's surprise return.
Last week's violence erupted as international pressure was increasing on Saleh to sign an exit pact. On September 12, the president authorized his vice-president, Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi, to negotiate a power transfer, a move that opponents immediately labeled a delay tactic, prompting their deadly march on September 18.
It remains impossible to say whether the latest clashes were provoked by one side or the other to scuttle those negotiations, or what Saleh's motives are for returning as the United States and European states have been stepping up their demands for his resignation. Saleh immediately called for a ceasefire and negotiations, but fighting has continued and he has backpedaled on his words many times this year.
What is clear at this is that the civilian population is bearing the brunt even beyond the bloodshed. Food, water, and power have become increasingly scarce since the protests began. As a report released this month from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights put it, some elements among those "seeking to achieve or retain power" are tying to "collectively punish" Yemen's civilians.
More than 100,000 people have been internally displaced in a patchwork of conflicts outside the capital. In the highland city of Taizz and in Arhab, where some have sought shelter in caves, tribal fighters of local sheikhs have been clashing since May with the Republican Guard. In the south, since March, military units have been fighting Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), a group backed by foreign fighters and perhaps linked to al Qaeda.
There is no quick fix to Yemen's crisis. But events of the last week suggest that only firm and sustained international attention, coupled with the prospect of targeted sanctions, will persuade the country's warring factions to swap arms for dialogue and to include the street protesters in the talks.
To that end, the United States, the European Union, and Gulf states including Saudi Arabia should freeze the foreign assets of President Saleh and his top security officials and officially suspend all security assistance until the authorities stop attacks on protesters and start bringing those responsible to justice. They also should press Yemen to stop resisting the presence of UN human rights monitors. At the same time, the UN Security Council should make it clear to all clashing factions in Yemen that it will not tolerate disregard for restraint. And would-be dealmakers, including Saudi Arabia, should pull any immunity offer for international crimes off the table.
If Washington, Riyadh, and other key players do not move swiftly, Yemen could be headed down the path of Somalia, a failed state just across the Gulf of Aden where armed Islamist militants have imposed draconian rule across vast swaths of territory, and famine and fighting have ravaged the population. In that scenario, last week's mayhem could be just a taste of the killing and suffering to come.
Letta Tayler is the Yemen and Counterterrorism Researcher at Human Rights Watch
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Security Council urges Yemeni parties to show maximum restraint, implement GCC initiative
Source: KUNA,25/09/2011
UNITED NATIONS- The Security Council late Saturday urged all sides in Yemen, after President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s return to the country Friday, to reject violence, including against peaceful and unarmed civilians, show maximum restraint, and act on a political transition on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative.
Council President Nawaf Salam of Lebanon said, in a press statement circulated here, that the Council members “called on all parties to move forward urgently in an inclusive, orderly, and Yemeni-led process of political transition, on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative that meets the needs and aspirations of the Yemeni people for change.
“They also called upon all the parties to respect their obligations under applicable international law and expressed their grave concern at the continued serious deterioration of the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen.
“Deeply concerned by the worsening security situation, including the threat from Al-Qaida in parts of Yemen, the Council members urged all parties to ensure access for the provision of humanitarian assistance, expressed their concern about the increasing interruption of basic supplies, and urged the partied not to target vital infrastructure.
“Welcoming the continued efforts of the good offices of the Secretary-General and the GCC, the Council members looked forward to an update on the situation from Special Adviser Jamal Benomar on his return from Sana’a, and agreed to continue to actively monitor the security, political, and humanitarian situation there.
The framework of the GCC Yemen initiative is that Saleh hands over power to his deputy, that a national coalition government be formed that groups representatives from both the current government and the opposition and other political parties, and that Saleh and his family, as well as figures from his regime, be given guarantees they would not be prosecuted.
UNITED NATIONS- The Security Council late Saturday urged all sides in Yemen, after President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s return to the country Friday, to reject violence, including against peaceful and unarmed civilians, show maximum restraint, and act on a political transition on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative.
Council President Nawaf Salam of Lebanon said, in a press statement circulated here, that the Council members “called on all parties to move forward urgently in an inclusive, orderly, and Yemeni-led process of political transition, on the basis of the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative that meets the needs and aspirations of the Yemeni people for change.
“They also called upon all the parties to respect their obligations under applicable international law and expressed their grave concern at the continued serious deterioration of the economic and humanitarian situation in Yemen.
“Deeply concerned by the worsening security situation, including the threat from Al-Qaida in parts of Yemen, the Council members urged all parties to ensure access for the provision of humanitarian assistance, expressed their concern about the increasing interruption of basic supplies, and urged the partied not to target vital infrastructure.
“Welcoming the continued efforts of the good offices of the Secretary-General and the GCC, the Council members looked forward to an update on the situation from Special Adviser Jamal Benomar on his return from Sana’a, and agreed to continue to actively monitor the security, political, and humanitarian situation there.
The framework of the GCC Yemen initiative is that Saleh hands over power to his deputy, that a national coalition government be formed that groups representatives from both the current government and the opposition and other political parties, and that Saleh and his family, as well as figures from his regime, be given guarantees they would not be prosecuted.
Saturday, 24 September 2011
President Saleh should resign if he could not protect civilians from the defected general's war, official says
By Nasser Arrabyee,24/09/2011
The deputy minister of information, Abdul Janadi called President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign if he could not stop the defected general Ali Muhsen from waging the war in the streets of the capital Sanaa.
" We want president Saleh to force Ali Muhsen to stop this crazy war in the streets where civilians are killed," said Abdu Al Janadi in his weekly press conference held Saturday in Sanaa.
"If the president could not stop the war and protect the innocents in the streets, then he should resign, and that's better for him," Al Janadi added.
Earlier in the day and last night clashes and explosions could be heard around the sit-in square between opposition forces including defected troops and armed tribesmen fighting with them and Saleh forces despite a fragile truce called for by President Saleh after he returned.
Shortly after his return from Saudi Arabia on Friday September 23, President Saleh said " I came back with olive branch and doves of peace. I am not malicious and will not take revenge against anyone."
The deputy minister of information, Abdul Janadi called President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign if he could not stop the defected general Ali Muhsen from waging the war in the streets of the capital Sanaa.
" We want president Saleh to force Ali Muhsen to stop this crazy war in the streets where civilians are killed," said Abdu Al Janadi in his weekly press conference held Saturday in Sanaa.
"If the president could not stop the war and protect the innocents in the streets, then he should resign, and that's better for him," Al Janadi added.
Earlier in the day and last night clashes and explosions could be heard around the sit-in square between opposition forces including defected troops and armed tribesmen fighting with them and Saleh forces despite a fragile truce called for by President Saleh after he returned.
Shortly after his return from Saudi Arabia on Friday September 23, President Saleh said " I came back with olive branch and doves of peace. I am not malicious and will not take revenge against anyone."
Friday, 23 September 2011
President Saleh calls for truce, power-transfer deal to be signed Sunday
By Nasser Arrabyee/23/09/2011
Explosions and clashes could be heard late Friday in the Yemeni capital despite a call for a cease-fire and truce from President Saleh.
The explosions and clashes could be heard at about 7:00 Pm in Al Hasaba area, the places around the Palace of the opposition tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar.
Earlier Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called for a cease-fire and full truce just hours after he arrived in the capital Sana’a today Friday from Saudi Arabia where had treatments for more than three months.
“We call all parties, political, military, security in the ruling and opposition for a cease-fire and full truce, for finding a solution,” President was Saleh by the State-run agency as saying.
“The solution is not in the mouths of artilleries , but it is in the dialogue and talks and saving blood and maintaining security and stability and preserving the achievements of the nation,” he said.
After his return today Friday, millions of Saleh’s supporters expressed their happiness over his return by taking to the streets and demanding him to stay in power until his term is finished on September 20th, 2013.
However, the American government and European Union urged Saleh to immediately transfer power and start preparing for early elections to held by the end of this year according the GCC deal was signed by the opposition and the ruling party, but Saleh has not endorsed it yet.
Spokesman of the ruling party, Tarek Al Shami, said that the GCC deal would be signed after tomorrow Sunday.
The official news agency said Saleh would deliver a speech next Sunday on the 49th anniversary of the 26 September revolution.
Earlier in the day The Presiden Saleh arrived in the Yemeni capital after more than three months in Saudi Arabia for treatment from injuries he suffered in a failed assassination attempt on June 3 in the mosque of his Palace.
Fireworks and live bullets to the air could be heard everywhere in the capital to celebrate the return of President Saleh.
The spokesman of the opposition, Mohammed Qahtan, said they do not care about Saleh’s return and they would continue their “revolution until all its goals are achieved”.
The expected return of Saleh came after almost a week of direct confrontation between his troops and defected troops supported by opposition tribesmen in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.
UN and Gulf mediation failed to the stop the confrontation.
The GCC head who mediates between Yemenis to stop the on going war returned home empty-handed after opposition refused to see him.
The billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar arrogantly ordered the Gulf official,Abdul Latif Al Zayani to leave Yemen and Hamid and opposition parties would go to revolutionary action, war, rather than "useless" talks.
The UN envoy Jamal Bin Onar insisted, however, to continue efforts to defuse the war and bring the conflicting parties to dialogue.
Sporadic clashes continued between defected forces and security forces and armed tribesmen from both sides despite a cease-fire.
Firing and explosions could be heard Fay and night in different places in the capital and in the bordering places around the sit-in square where defected troops and armed tribesmen allegedly protect protesters.
Earlier in the week, two international envoys arrived in Yemen earlier this week after conflicting parties went on a war ignoring a world-supported proposal to end the 8-month crisis.
The UN envoy Jamal bin Omar and head of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdul Latif Al Zauani, arrived only to see bloodshed and hear explosions in the capital Sana’a almost around the clock.
Both of them were a little bit late. They were supposed to arrive before the breakout of the war to help the Yemeni conflicting parties reach an agreement on a mechanism previously suggested by Bin Omar, for implementing a Saudi-led GCC deal for transferring the power from President Saleh through democratic elections.
The "still controllable" war erupted while the opposition leaders and the ruling party were in their talks about an authorization decree issued earlier this month from President Saleh to his deputy for preparing for electing a new president by the end of this year.
Two influential leaders from the opposition, other than those involved in the talks with vice president, were obviously behind this war which killed more than 50 Yemenis and injured hundreds of others so far during three days of fierce clashes in which all kinds of weapons were used.
These two effective leaders, the defected general Ali Muhsen, and the billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar, felt they were ignored and excluded from the talks especially after the arrival of the two international envoys, Bin Omar and Al Zayani.
Hamid Al Ahamar, who has been mainly financing and orchestrating the anti-Saleh protests, said arrogantly through his satellite TV that the two envoys "must leave" the country immediately if they came to bring Yemenis back to dialogue.
For general Muhsen, his defected troops are in direct confrontations with Saleh's forces in many streets around the sit-in square at the gate of Sanaa university for the first time since he defected.
His troops closed the university and dismissed the students and professors in the first day of the new academic year, September 17th, and turned it to a military barrack.
The two leaders were also behind what was called the “revolutionary action and end ” of the 8-month long peaceful protests demanding the ouster of President Sale.
In a secret document leaked to media this week, Hamid Al Ahmar asked the general Muhsen to arm 3,000 young man from the protesters to protect the “the revolutionary end” demonstrations which started Sunday September 18th, 2011 and led to the current war.
Last May, with his armed tribesmen and 10 brothers, the rich businessman Hamid Al Ahmar himself led a two-week war against Saleh’s forces around his palace in Al Hasaba area, in which about 150 people were killed from both sides.
The Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Azeez imposed a truce on both sides after President Saleh arrived in Riyadh for treatment from injuries he suffered in the June 3 failed assassination attempt, which Hamid Al Ahmar and Ali Muhsen were accused of being behind it.
The May war was locally known as Al Ahmar-Saleh war and this war is known now as Ali Muhsen-Saleh war. When it comes to war, no one talk about the opposition parties or about the independent young people who demand the ouster of Saleh.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United States are doing their best to contain the situation and stop the “seemingly controllable” war between two armies and armed supporters of both sides.
In a statement, the US embassy in Sana’a called upon all parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that provoke further violence.
“We reject actions that undermine productive efforts underway to achieve a political resolution to the current crisis,” said the US embassy statement.
“The United States continues to support a peaceful and orderly transition in Yemen, one which addresses the Yemeni people’s aspirations for peace and security. We remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached that leads to the signing of the GCC Initiative within one week.”
From his side, the Saudi King who met President Saleh in Riyadh earlier this week immediately after the war erupted in Sana’a, showed a great of support for Yemen’s security and stability and unity, according to the Saudi news agency.
The Yemeni prime minister, Ali Mujawar, and speaker of Parliament Yahya Al Raye’e attended the meeting. Both Mujawar and Al Raye’e are still recovering in Saudi Arabia from injuries they suffered in the June assassination attempt.
And although what’s going now in Sana’a seems like any war between two big forces in addition to armed tribesmen involved from both sides, the government keeps saying it’s only the security forces which confront the defected troops and their armed supporters.
The government denies that the republican guards, the highly qualified and trained forces led by Ahmed Ali, Saleh’s son, are participating in the ongoing street to street confrontations. Although this republican guards forces are really deployed in the streets.
“The security forces only are responsible for protecting the capital Sana’a from the defected troops, and the extremists of brotherhood, and the sons of Al Ahmar,” said an official statement.
On his part, deputy minister of information Abdul Janadi said that this war was planned for thwarting the efforts being exerted now by the Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to reach a compromise with the opposition parties for preparing for presidential elections according to the UN and GCC suggestions.
Although opposition publically refuse any dialogue or initiative now and insist only on what they called “revolutionary action and end” , their leaders are still involved in the talks going on now despite the war.
“Talks are still going on with all parties, and a solution will be reached in less than a week,” said a senior officials involved in the talks.
“There will be no civil war, what’s happening now is still controlled and it’s for good negotiations for some parties,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
"the two international envoys Bin Omar and Al Zayani met and would meet all parties," he said.
Explosions and clashes could be heard late Friday in the Yemeni capital despite a call for a cease-fire and truce from President Saleh.
The explosions and clashes could be heard at about 7:00 Pm in Al Hasaba area, the places around the Palace of the opposition tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar.
Earlier Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh called for a cease-fire and full truce just hours after he arrived in the capital Sana’a today Friday from Saudi Arabia where had treatments for more than three months.
“We call all parties, political, military, security in the ruling and opposition for a cease-fire and full truce, for finding a solution,” President was Saleh by the State-run agency as saying.
“The solution is not in the mouths of artilleries , but it is in the dialogue and talks and saving blood and maintaining security and stability and preserving the achievements of the nation,” he said.
After his return today Friday, millions of Saleh’s supporters expressed their happiness over his return by taking to the streets and demanding him to stay in power until his term is finished on September 20th, 2013.
However, the American government and European Union urged Saleh to immediately transfer power and start preparing for early elections to held by the end of this year according the GCC deal was signed by the opposition and the ruling party, but Saleh has not endorsed it yet.
Spokesman of the ruling party, Tarek Al Shami, said that the GCC deal would be signed after tomorrow Sunday.
The official news agency said Saleh would deliver a speech next Sunday on the 49th anniversary of the 26 September revolution.
Earlier in the day The Presiden Saleh arrived in the Yemeni capital after more than three months in Saudi Arabia for treatment from injuries he suffered in a failed assassination attempt on June 3 in the mosque of his Palace.
Fireworks and live bullets to the air could be heard everywhere in the capital to celebrate the return of President Saleh.
The spokesman of the opposition, Mohammed Qahtan, said they do not care about Saleh’s return and they would continue their “revolution until all its goals are achieved”.
The expected return of Saleh came after almost a week of direct confrontation between his troops and defected troops supported by opposition tribesmen in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.
UN and Gulf mediation failed to the stop the confrontation.
The GCC head who mediates between Yemenis to stop the on going war returned home empty-handed after opposition refused to see him.
The billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar arrogantly ordered the Gulf official,Abdul Latif Al Zayani to leave Yemen and Hamid and opposition parties would go to revolutionary action, war, rather than "useless" talks.
The UN envoy Jamal Bin Onar insisted, however, to continue efforts to defuse the war and bring the conflicting parties to dialogue.
Sporadic clashes continued between defected forces and security forces and armed tribesmen from both sides despite a cease-fire.
Firing and explosions could be heard Fay and night in different places in the capital and in the bordering places around the sit-in square where defected troops and armed tribesmen allegedly protect protesters.
Earlier in the week, two international envoys arrived in Yemen earlier this week after conflicting parties went on a war ignoring a world-supported proposal to end the 8-month crisis.
The UN envoy Jamal bin Omar and head of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdul Latif Al Zauani, arrived only to see bloodshed and hear explosions in the capital Sana’a almost around the clock.
Both of them were a little bit late. They were supposed to arrive before the breakout of the war to help the Yemeni conflicting parties reach an agreement on a mechanism previously suggested by Bin Omar, for implementing a Saudi-led GCC deal for transferring the power from President Saleh through democratic elections.
The "still controllable" war erupted while the opposition leaders and the ruling party were in their talks about an authorization decree issued earlier this month from President Saleh to his deputy for preparing for electing a new president by the end of this year.
Two influential leaders from the opposition, other than those involved in the talks with vice president, were obviously behind this war which killed more than 50 Yemenis and injured hundreds of others so far during three days of fierce clashes in which all kinds of weapons were used.
These two effective leaders, the defected general Ali Muhsen, and the billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar, felt they were ignored and excluded from the talks especially after the arrival of the two international envoys, Bin Omar and Al Zayani.
Hamid Al Ahamar, who has been mainly financing and orchestrating the anti-Saleh protests, said arrogantly through his satellite TV that the two envoys "must leave" the country immediately if they came to bring Yemenis back to dialogue.
For general Muhsen, his defected troops are in direct confrontations with Saleh's forces in many streets around the sit-in square at the gate of Sanaa university for the first time since he defected.
His troops closed the university and dismissed the students and professors in the first day of the new academic year, September 17th, and turned it to a military barrack.
The two leaders were also behind what was called the “revolutionary action and end ” of the 8-month long peaceful protests demanding the ouster of President Sale.
In a secret document leaked to media this week, Hamid Al Ahmar asked the general Muhsen to arm 3,000 young man from the protesters to protect the “the revolutionary end” demonstrations which started Sunday September 18th, 2011 and led to the current war.
Last May, with his armed tribesmen and 10 brothers, the rich businessman Hamid Al Ahmar himself led a two-week war against Saleh’s forces around his palace in Al Hasaba area, in which about 150 people were killed from both sides.
The Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Azeez imposed a truce on both sides after President Saleh arrived in Riyadh for treatment from injuries he suffered in the June 3 failed assassination attempt, which Hamid Al Ahmar and Ali Muhsen were accused of being behind it.
The May war was locally known as Al Ahmar-Saleh war and this war is known now as Ali Muhsen-Saleh war. When it comes to war, no one talk about the opposition parties or about the independent young people who demand the ouster of Saleh.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United States are doing their best to contain the situation and stop the “seemingly controllable” war between two armies and armed supporters of both sides.
In a statement, the US embassy in Sana’a called upon all parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that provoke further violence.
“We reject actions that undermine productive efforts underway to achieve a political resolution to the current crisis,” said the US embassy statement.
“The United States continues to support a peaceful and orderly transition in Yemen, one which addresses the Yemeni people’s aspirations for peace and security. We remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached that leads to the signing of the GCC Initiative within one week.”
From his side, the Saudi King who met President Saleh in Riyadh earlier this week immediately after the war erupted in Sana’a, showed a great of support for Yemen’s security and stability and unity, according to the Saudi news agency.
The Yemeni prime minister, Ali Mujawar, and speaker of Parliament Yahya Al Raye’e attended the meeting. Both Mujawar and Al Raye’e are still recovering in Saudi Arabia from injuries they suffered in the June assassination attempt.
And although what’s going now in Sana’a seems like any war between two big forces in addition to armed tribesmen involved from both sides, the government keeps saying it’s only the security forces which confront the defected troops and their armed supporters.
The government denies that the republican guards, the highly qualified and trained forces led by Ahmed Ali, Saleh’s son, are participating in the ongoing street to street confrontations. Although this republican guards forces are really deployed in the streets.
“The security forces only are responsible for protecting the capital Sana’a from the defected troops, and the extremists of brotherhood, and the sons of Al Ahmar,” said an official statement.
On his part, deputy minister of information Abdul Janadi said that this war was planned for thwarting the efforts being exerted now by the Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to reach a compromise with the opposition parties for preparing for presidential elections according to the UN and GCC suggestions.
Although opposition publically refuse any dialogue or initiative now and insist only on what they called “revolutionary action and end” , their leaders are still involved in the talks going on now despite the war.
“Talks are still going on with all parties, and a solution will be reached in less than a week,” said a senior officials involved in the talks.
“There will be no civil war, what’s happening now is still controlled and it’s for good negotiations for some parties,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
"the two international envoys Bin Omar and Al Zayani met and would meet all parties," he said.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
President Saleh returns home despite detractors' war
Millions of Saleh's supporters celebrate and rejoice over the long-awaited return
By Nasser Arrabyee/23/09/2011
The President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived in the Yemeni capital early morning today Friday, September 23rd, 2011, after three more than three months in Saudi Arabia for treatment from injuries he suffered in a failed assassination attempt on June 3 in the mosque of his Palace.
Fireworks and live bullets to the air could be heard everywhere in the capital to celebrate the return of President Saleh.
The expected return of Saleh came after almost a week of direct confrontation between his troops and defected troops supported by opposition tribesmen in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.
UN and Gulf mediation failed to the stop the confrontation.
The GCC head who mediates between Yemenis to stop the on going war returned home empty-handed after opposition refused to see him.
The billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar arrogantly ordered the Gulf official,Abdul Latif Al Zayani to leave Yemen and Hamid and opposition parties would go to revolutionary action, war, rather than "useless" talks.
The UN envoy Jamal Bin Onar insisted, however, to continue efforts to defuse the war and bring the conflicting parties to dialogue.
Sporadic clashes continued between defected forces and security forces and armed tribesmen from both sides despite a cease-fire.
Firing and explosions could be heard Fay and night in different places in the capital and in the bordering places around the sit-in square where defected troops and armed tribesmen allegedly protect protesters.
Earlier in the week, two international envoys arrived in Yemen earlier this week after conflicting parties went on a war ignoring a world-supported proposal to end the 8-month crisis.
The UN envoy Jamal bin Omar and head of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdul Latif Al Zauani, arrived only to see bloodshed and hear explosions in the capital Sana’a almost around the clock.
Both of them were a little bit late. They were supposed to arrive before the breakout of the war to help the Yemeni conflicting parties reach an agreement on a mechanism previously suggested by Bin Omar, for implementing a Saudi-led GCC deal for transferring the power from President Saleh through democratic elections.
The "still controllable" war erupted while the opposition leaders and the ruling party were in their talks about an authorization decree issued earlier this month from President Saleh to his deputy for preparing for electing a new president by the end of this year.
Two influential leaders from the opposition, other than those involved in the talks with vice president, were obviously behind this war which killed more than 50 Yemenis and injured hundreds of others so far during three days of fierce clashes in which all kinds of weapons were used.
These two effective leaders, the defected general Ali Muhsen, and the billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar, felt they were ignored and excluded from the talks especially after the arrival of the two international envoys, Bin Omar and Al Zayani.
Hamid Al Ahamar, who has been mainly financing and orchestrating the anti-Saleh protests, said arrogantly through his satellite TV that the two envoys "must leave" the country immediately if they came to bring Yemenis back to dialogue.
For general Muhsen, his defected troops are in direct confrontations with Saleh's forces in many streets around the sit-in square at the gate of Sanaa university for the first time since he defected.
His troops closed the university and dismissed the students and professors in the first day of the new academic year, September 17th, and turned it to a military barrack.
The two leaders were also behind what was called the “revolutionary action and end ” of the 8-month long peaceful protests demanding the ouster of President Sale.
In a secret document leaked to media this week, Hamid Al Ahmar asked the general Muhsen to arm 3,000 young man from the protesters to protect the “the revolutionary end” demonstrations which started Sunday September 18th, 2011 and led to the current war.
Last May, with his armed tribesmen and 10 brothers, the rich businessman Hamid Al Ahmar himself led a two-week war against Saleh’s forces around his palace in Al Hasaba area, in which about 150 people were killed from both sides.
The Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Azeez imposed a truce on both sides after President Saleh arrived in Riyadh for treatment from injuries he suffered in the June 3 failed assassination attempt, which Hamid Al Ahmar and Ali Muhsen were accused of being behind it.
The May war was locally known as Al Ahmar-Saleh war and this war is known now as Ali Muhsen-Saleh war. When it comes to war, no one talk about the opposition parties or about the independent young people who demand the ouster of Saleh.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United States are doing their best to contain the situation and stop the “seemingly controllable” war between two armies and armed supporters of both sides.
In a statement, the US embassy in Sana’a called upon all parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that provoke further violence.
“We reject actions that undermine productive efforts underway to achieve a political resolution to the current crisis,” said the US embassy statement.
“The United States continues to support a peaceful and orderly transition in Yemen, one which addresses the Yemeni people’s aspirations for peace and security. We remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached that leads to the signing of the GCC Initiative within one week.”
From his side, the Saudi King who met President Saleh in Riyadh earlier this week immediately after the war erupted in Sana’a, showed a great of support for Yemen’s security and stability and unity, according to the Saudi news agency.
The Yemeni prime minister, Ali Mujawar, and speaker of Parliament Yahya Al Raye’e attended the meeting. Both Mujawar and Al Raye’e are still recovering in Saudi Arabia from injuries they suffered in the June assassination attempt.
And although what’s going now in Sana’a seems like any war between two big forces in addition to armed tribesmen involved from both sides, the government keeps saying it’s only the security forces which confront the defected troops and their armed supporters.
The government denies that the republican guards, the highly qualified and trained forces led by Ahmed Ali, Saleh’s son, are participating in the ongoing street to street confrontations. Although this republican guards forces are really deployed in the streets.
“The security forces only are responsible for protecting the capital Sana’a from the defected troops, and the extremists of brotherhood, and the sons of Al Ahmar,” said an official statement.
On his part, deputy minister of information Abdul Janadi said that this war was planned for thwarting the efforts being exerted now by the Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to reach a compromise with the opposition parties for preparing for presidential elections according to the UN and GCC suggestions.
Although opposition publically refuse any dialogue or initiative now and insist only on what they called “revolutionary action and end” , their leaders are still involved in the talks going on now despite the war.
“Talks are still going on with all parties, and a solution will be reached in less than a week,” said a senior officials involved in the talks.
“There will be no civil war, what’s happening now is still controlled and it’s for good negotiations for some parties,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
"the two international envoys Bin Omar and Al Zayani met and would meet all parties," he said.
By Nasser Arrabyee/23/09/2011
The President Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived in the Yemeni capital early morning today Friday, September 23rd, 2011, after three more than three months in Saudi Arabia for treatment from injuries he suffered in a failed assassination attempt on June 3 in the mosque of his Palace.
Fireworks and live bullets to the air could be heard everywhere in the capital to celebrate the return of President Saleh.
The expected return of Saleh came after almost a week of direct confrontation between his troops and defected troops supported by opposition tribesmen in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.
UN and Gulf mediation failed to the stop the confrontation.
The GCC head who mediates between Yemenis to stop the on going war returned home empty-handed after opposition refused to see him.
The billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar arrogantly ordered the Gulf official,Abdul Latif Al Zayani to leave Yemen and Hamid and opposition parties would go to revolutionary action, war, rather than "useless" talks.
The UN envoy Jamal Bin Onar insisted, however, to continue efforts to defuse the war and bring the conflicting parties to dialogue.
Sporadic clashes continued between defected forces and security forces and armed tribesmen from both sides despite a cease-fire.
Firing and explosions could be heard Fay and night in different places in the capital and in the bordering places around the sit-in square where defected troops and armed tribesmen allegedly protect protesters.
Earlier in the week, two international envoys arrived in Yemen earlier this week after conflicting parties went on a war ignoring a world-supported proposal to end the 8-month crisis.
The UN envoy Jamal bin Omar and head of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Abdul Latif Al Zauani, arrived only to see bloodshed and hear explosions in the capital Sana’a almost around the clock.
Both of them were a little bit late. They were supposed to arrive before the breakout of the war to help the Yemeni conflicting parties reach an agreement on a mechanism previously suggested by Bin Omar, for implementing a Saudi-led GCC deal for transferring the power from President Saleh through democratic elections.
The "still controllable" war erupted while the opposition leaders and the ruling party were in their talks about an authorization decree issued earlier this month from President Saleh to his deputy for preparing for electing a new president by the end of this year.
Two influential leaders from the opposition, other than those involved in the talks with vice president, were obviously behind this war which killed more than 50 Yemenis and injured hundreds of others so far during three days of fierce clashes in which all kinds of weapons were used.
These two effective leaders, the defected general Ali Muhsen, and the billionaire tribal leader Hamid Al Ahmar, felt they were ignored and excluded from the talks especially after the arrival of the two international envoys, Bin Omar and Al Zayani.
Hamid Al Ahamar, who has been mainly financing and orchestrating the anti-Saleh protests, said arrogantly through his satellite TV that the two envoys "must leave" the country immediately if they came to bring Yemenis back to dialogue.
For general Muhsen, his defected troops are in direct confrontations with Saleh's forces in many streets around the sit-in square at the gate of Sanaa university for the first time since he defected.
His troops closed the university and dismissed the students and professors in the first day of the new academic year, September 17th, and turned it to a military barrack.
The two leaders were also behind what was called the “revolutionary action and end ” of the 8-month long peaceful protests demanding the ouster of President Sale.
In a secret document leaked to media this week, Hamid Al Ahmar asked the general Muhsen to arm 3,000 young man from the protesters to protect the “the revolutionary end” demonstrations which started Sunday September 18th, 2011 and led to the current war.
Last May, with his armed tribesmen and 10 brothers, the rich businessman Hamid Al Ahmar himself led a two-week war against Saleh’s forces around his palace in Al Hasaba area, in which about 150 people were killed from both sides.
The Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Azeez imposed a truce on both sides after President Saleh arrived in Riyadh for treatment from injuries he suffered in the June 3 failed assassination attempt, which Hamid Al Ahmar and Ali Muhsen were accused of being behind it.
The May war was locally known as Al Ahmar-Saleh war and this war is known now as Ali Muhsen-Saleh war. When it comes to war, no one talk about the opposition parties or about the independent young people who demand the ouster of Saleh.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United States are doing their best to contain the situation and stop the “seemingly controllable” war between two armies and armed supporters of both sides.
In a statement, the US embassy in Sana’a called upon all parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that provoke further violence.
“We reject actions that undermine productive efforts underway to achieve a political resolution to the current crisis,” said the US embassy statement.
“The United States continues to support a peaceful and orderly transition in Yemen, one which addresses the Yemeni people’s aspirations for peace and security. We remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached that leads to the signing of the GCC Initiative within one week.”
From his side, the Saudi King who met President Saleh in Riyadh earlier this week immediately after the war erupted in Sana’a, showed a great of support for Yemen’s security and stability and unity, according to the Saudi news agency.
The Yemeni prime minister, Ali Mujawar, and speaker of Parliament Yahya Al Raye’e attended the meeting. Both Mujawar and Al Raye’e are still recovering in Saudi Arabia from injuries they suffered in the June assassination attempt.
And although what’s going now in Sana’a seems like any war between two big forces in addition to armed tribesmen involved from both sides, the government keeps saying it’s only the security forces which confront the defected troops and their armed supporters.
The government denies that the republican guards, the highly qualified and trained forces led by Ahmed Ali, Saleh’s son, are participating in the ongoing street to street confrontations. Although this republican guards forces are really deployed in the streets.
“The security forces only are responsible for protecting the capital Sana’a from the defected troops, and the extremists of brotherhood, and the sons of Al Ahmar,” said an official statement.
On his part, deputy minister of information Abdul Janadi said that this war was planned for thwarting the efforts being exerted now by the Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to reach a compromise with the opposition parties for preparing for presidential elections according to the UN and GCC suggestions.
Although opposition publically refuse any dialogue or initiative now and insist only on what they called “revolutionary action and end” , their leaders are still involved in the talks going on now despite the war.
“Talks are still going on with all parties, and a solution will be reached in less than a week,” said a senior officials involved in the talks.
“There will be no civil war, what’s happening now is still controlled and it’s for good negotiations for some parties,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
"the two international envoys Bin Omar and Al Zayani met and would meet all parties," he said.
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