Thread: Opposing protesters rally in Yemen

''Tens of thousands of Yemenis squared off in street protests for and against the government on Thursday''
and they all looked exactly the same .........

Yemeni Government Following Egypt’s Repressive Lead?
Alireza Azizi
February 4, 2011



Inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, and in solidarity with the Egyptian and Tunisian people, on Thursday February 3rd, thousands of anti-government protesters took part in a protest calling on Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down after 33 years.

A day before Thursday’s demonstration, president Saleh announced that he would not seek re-election when his present term ends in 2013 and he will postpone April’s parliamentary election, two of the key demands of the opposition. Yemen is entering its third week of protests calling for reforms, including an end to unemployment, and respect for freedom of expression.

Yemen — challenged by the presence of al-Qa’ida, a separatist movement in the south, and peacekeeping with the Shia rebels (Huthis) in the north — has increasingly resorted to repressive and illegal methods, including arbitrary arrest and unfair trials.

In the midst of growing call for reforms, the crackdown on freedom of expression has worsened. The Yemeni government has become increasingly intolerant of the independent media and any criticism. Journalists, editors and publishers have been detained, held incommunicado, ill-treated and jailed on spurious charges after unfair trials. Security forces raided newspaper offices and television stations and shot at demonstrators peacefully protesting against repression of free speech. Newspapers have also been suspended and news websites blocked.

Among those arrested for participation in one of the protests is prominent activist Tawakkol Karman, President of Women Journalists Without Chains. She was released a day later and charged with taking part in an unlicensed protest. Two days later her brother received a phone call implying that she would be killed if he did not ensure that she stay at home.

Tawakkol Karman intends to pursue her work despite the intimidation. She told Amnesty International:

“I shall continue, I chose this road and at the end of the day it is a matter of sacrifice. People are peacefully protesting and they are facing repression.”

Mohamed Al Bouazzizi, the poor fruit seller who ignited the Tunisian revolution and gave his life to that cause, probably never thought that the fire that he started could grow as far as Egypt and Yemen.

blog.amnestyusa.org

U.S. urges Yemen opposition to avoid provocation | Reuters

U.S. urges Yemen opposition to avoid "provocation"


Anti-government protesters shout slogans and hold Yemen flags during a protest in Sanaa February 4, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Khaled Abdullah

SANAA | Sat Feb 5, 2011 5:21am EST

SANAA (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Yemen called on opposition groups on Saturday to refrain from "provocative action" and talk to the government following large street protests in the impoverished Arab country.

Tens of thousands of Yemenis took part in peaceful protests for and against the government on Thursday during an opposition-led "Day of Rage," a day after President Ali Abdullah Saleh offered to step down in 2013.

"We strongly urge the opposition parties to avoid provocative actions and respond constructively to President Saleh's initiative to resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation," the U.S. embassy said on its website.

"We call on all parties to continue the national dialogue and return to the negotiating table to reach an agreement that will be welcomed by, and best serve, the Yemeni people."

The opposition drew more than 20,000 people in Sanaa, the biggest crowd since a wave of demonstrations hit the poor Arabian Peninsula state two weeks ago, inspired by protests that toppled Tunisia's ruler and threaten Egypt's president.

Saleh, a shrewd political survivor, has backed out of previous promises to step aside. Analysts say Wednesday's pledge could be a genuine way to exit gracefully but he may also hope to wait out regional unrest and reassert dominance another day.

"We continue to urge Yemeni security organizations and demonstrators to refrain from violence and for the government to respect its citizens' right to peaceful assembly and expression," the embassy said, adding there were a few outbreaks of violence despite security forces' restraint.

U.S. President Barack Obama urged Saleh in a telephone call on Wednesday to follow up on his reform measures with "concrete actions." Obama also told Saleh it was "imperative that Yemen take forceful action" against al Qaeda.

The United States relies heavily on Saleh to help combat al Qaeda's Yemen-based arm, which also targets neighboring Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter. Instability in Yemen would present serious political and security risks for Gulf states.

(Reporting by Mohamed Sudam; writing by Firouz Sedarat; editing by Tim Pearce)

Thousands of southern protesters demand secession from Yemen
February 12, 2011

Thousands of pro-secessionism Southern Movement protesters took to street on Friday in Yemen's southern provinces, calling for ousting Sanaa government from the south and seceding from the north.

The massive, simultaneous demonstrations called "Friday of rage ", took place in southern provinces of Abyan, Aden and al-Dhalee and were organized by the anti-unity leading separatist Southern Movement.

More than 2,000 protesters marched throughout Zinjibar city, the provincial capital of Abyan province as security forces were deployed around government's facilities. No clashes were reported, according to a local councilman.

Elsewhere in Aden, hundreds of protesters gathered in Al- Mansoura district, shouting slogans against Sanaa government and demanding the south to be seceded from the north.

Police managed to disperse the demonstrators in Al-Mansoura as no one was killed or injured, eyewitness said.

In al-Dhalee province, nearly 1,000 protesters took to the streets of the province's main city, calling for disengagement from the north and the restoration of the southern state.

The demonstration ended without any clash with the security forces, which accompanied the march, according to a police source.

Northern and southern parts were unified in 1990, according to a deal between the People's General Congress and the Yemeni Socialist Party. However, the deal fell apart, leading to a crisis between the two allies, which developed into a civil war in 1994.

Inspired by Tunisian popular uprising and protests in Egypt, many Yemenis took to the streets in major cities including the capital Sanaa recently to protest against their own government's political and economic policies.

Source: Xinhua

english.people.com.cn

Clashes broke out between groups supporting and opposing the government in Sanaa on Saturday
[Reuters]

Thousands rally in Yemen's capital - Middle East - Al Jazeera English

Protesters in Yemen meet hard line from government
IONA CRAIG in Sana'a
Wednesday, February 16, 2011

FOR THE fifth consecutive day anti-government demonstrations in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, turned violent in a wave of protests across the country, ignited by last week’s resignation of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Soldiers, watching expectantly over every major road junction and landmark across the city, swapped their usual guns for baseball bat-style batons and riot shields yesterday as demonstrators gathered at Sana’a University.

Several hundred activists chanting “Ali leave, Ali leave” were matched in number by supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s ruler for more than 32 years.

The loyalists arrived by the busload as portrait placards of the president, along with sticks, were handed out to men and boys as young as 10 or 12 from the back of government SUVs.

Pro-government supporters chanted: “With our blood and our hearts we defend the president,” as they marched to the entrance of the university.

Amid traffic chaos around the campus the vocal conflict eventually turned physical. Demonstrators threw rocks and raised sticks.Three people were reportedly injured.

“We will keep coming out, every day until he [Saleh] leaves. Egypt did it, so can we,” said one unemployed graduate as the crowd scattered.

In a tea shop opposite the university two students were avoiding the latest protests.

“Yes, I am afraid. They are beating people now and soon they will start shooting them. The political security are animals,” said one student who did not want to give his name.

“All these men,” he said, waving his hand in the direction of the president’s supporters, “They’ve either been paid by the ruling party to be here, or they are soldiers in civilian clothes.” In the same shop a teenager rested with a Saleh placard next to him.

When asked if he had been paid to support the president he shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. What does it matter? I need the money.” The two students raised their voices, calling him names. “This is why Yemen is such a mess. People, politicians, they don’t care about anything but money.”

The Arab region’s poorest state, Yemen is ranked 154 out of 180 countries in the 2011 freedom from corruption index. According to 2008 figures, corruption costs the economy $4 billion a year. Almost half the 23 million population lives on less than $2 a day and unemployment is 40 per cent.

Yesterday’s small but violent protests continued a daily pattern seen in the city since Mubarak’s fall. The first clashes were seen on Friday night, after a gathering of more than 1,000 people celebrated the uprising in Egypt. The peaceful demonstration ended with people fleeing from plainclothes security men wielding sticks and knives.

While the violence has escalated, numbers of anti-government protesters have fallen. On Sunday, security forces in civilian clothes once again waded into an already dwindling crowd of 1,000 student-led demonstrators, during a sit-in at a major road junction en route to the President’s (Al-Saleh) Mosque. Several protesters, including women, were injured after taser guns and batons were used to disperse demonstrators.

On Monday, Mr Saleh canceled a planned trip to Washington amid growing calls for his resignation.

irishtimes.com

http://english.aljazeera.net//news/m...012256401.html

Yemenis protest amid crackdown

Violence escalates between government supporters and protesters calling for the president's ouster.

Last Modified: 16 Feb 2011 11:34 GMT


The protesters chanted slogans against president Saleh, including: 'Down with the president's thugs' [Reuters]
Protests in Yemen are spiralling out of control as they enter their sixth consecutive day, with pro-democracy protesters and government loyalists clashing in Sanaa, the capital, and in the southern port city of Aden.

A 21-year old protester was shot dead after clashes broke out between police and demonstrators in Aden, his father said on Wednesday.

Mohammed Ali Alwani was among two people hit as police fired shots into the air to try to break up around 500 protesters gathered in the port town.

Despite thousands of police being deployed across Sanaa, dozens of students demanding the president's ouster clashed with government supporters at Sanaa university.

Demonstrators were set upon by hundreds of loyalists armed with batons, stones and daggers, shortly after they set off from the university towards al-Sabiine square.

Some protesters fled while others hurled stones, and clashes later spread to the university campus.

The Reuters news agency said one student had been wounded in the clashes while AFP said three journalists were beaten up by supporters of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president, near the university.

Protesters accused government "thugs" of "brutally" attacking them and charged the assailants including plainclothes police.

"The thugs and supporters of the ruling party ... [want to] massacre" the students, Radwan Masud, head of the university's student union, said.

He vowed that the students will "continue their revolt and will not be hindered by the ruling party's actions".

Continuing protests

Similar clashes have taken place on a daily basis this week as protesters, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, demand Saleh's ouster.

On Tuesday, police in Sanaa dispersed clashes between regime supporters and a crowd of anti-government protesters that left three wounded. Similar scenes also occurred in Taez, south of the capital.

On Monday, rocks and batons flew in the capital as the protesters, mainly students and lawyers, clashed with police and Saleh's supporters. Police also clashed with protesters in Sanaa on Sunday.

A sit-in by hundreds of judges demanding greater independence of the judiciary and the ouster of the Supreme Judicial Council, meanwhile, went into its second day outside the justice ministry in Sanaa.

The judges who have poured into Sanaa from around Yemen said they want all the members of the Supreme Judicial Council, including the justice minister, to be sacked. They also are demanding higher salaries.

Several checkpoints have appeared on the streets leading to Sanaa's presidential palace, and many have been blocked with razor wire.

The protests have been continuing despite Saleh's pledge not to seek another term in 2013.

On Monday, a 3,000-strong throng of demonstrators, clad in black robes, clashed with police and pro-government supporters in Sanaa.

Military ties between the US and Saleh's administration have grown stronger in recent months, as the country struggles with the increasing militancy of a secessionist movement in the south, as well as unrest provoked by rising food prices, unemployment reaching 40 per cent - and demands for human rights to be recognised.

The US is shortly to embark on a $75m project to train Yemen's counterterrorism unit, US officials say.

Saleh became leader of North Yemen in 1978 and has ruled the Republic of Yemen since the north and south merged in 1990.

France24 - Death toll in Yemen mounts as police and protestors clash

Latest update: 18/02/2011

Death toll in Yemen mounts as police and protestors clash


A hand-grenade attack killed two anti-regime protestors and left 27 injured in the Yemeni city of Taez on Friday, while violent clashes broke out in Sanaa, witnesses said.

By Shona BHATTACHARYYA (video)
News Wires (text)


AFP - Anti-regime protesters in the volatile Yemen city of Taez were blasted with a hand grenade Friday leaving two dead and dozens hurt, while violent clashes also erupted in Sanaa, witnesses said.

The grenade attack came as hundreds of protesters took to the centre of Taez after the Friday Muslim prayers to demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in protests that have been raging in the city for the past week.

A local official told AFP that the grenade was lobbed at protesters from a speeding car that carried government registration plates.

The people in the "government car" have been identified, he said.

"They are two, but we will not identify their political affiliation," he added.

"The death toll of the attack in Taez has reached to two dead and 27 wounded," a medical official told AFP.

In the capital Sanaa, at least four anti-regime protesters were wounded when Saleh partisans attacked a demonstration, witnesses said.

Several journalists were severely beaten by supporters of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) who attacked the demonstration using batons and axes, an AFP correspondent reported.

Thousands of demonstrators, mostly students, had gathered following the weekly Friday prayers in a main street of Sanaa.

"People want to overthrow the regime," they chanted.

The supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh numbered in hundreds, aided by security agents in plainclothes, on the sixth consecutive day of confrontations between protesters and loyalists.

Three people were shot dead and around 20 wounded Thursday by police when security forces clashed with anti-regime protesters in the southern city of Aden.

An official at Jumhuriah hospital in Aden said that three bodies were sent to the morgue, adding that 19 people were wounded, two of whom were in serious condition and undergoing surgery.

Police had opened fire on thousands of demonstrators who marched Thursday in Aden's Al-Mansura neighbourhood demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in office for 32 years.

The demonstrators, chanting, "Ali, out!", damaged shops, set fire to tyres and placed obstacles in the streets to block traffic, an AFP correspondent said.

Police fired tear gas and then live rounds to disperse the protesters, who responded by throwing stones.

Twenty people were wounded and a similar number were arrested in the same neighbourhood on Wednesday when demonstrators stormed the local police station and the central prison, according to a local official.

State news agency Saba reported on Thursday that Saleh had ordered an investigation "to inquire about the unfortunate riots that have occurred in some parts of" Al-Mansura.

The latest deaths bring to seven -- five in Aden and two in Taez -- the number of people killed in Yemen since clashes erupted on Sunday.

In Sanaa, protests have become increasingly violent, despite Saleh -- elected to a seven-year-term in September 2006 -- urging dialogue on forming a government of national unity.

"Yemenis have a legitimate right to freedom of expression and assaults against both them and journalists covering their protests are totally unacceptable," Amnesty International said in a statement from London.

It quoted sources in Yemen as saying that "at least 10 demonstrators in Sanaa were injured," including several in the head, after security forces in plainclothes opened fire with live bullets.

Besides poverty and unemployment, Saleh's government is grappling a secessionist movement in the south, rebellion in the north, and a regrouping of Al-Qaeda on its soil.

Anti-government protests continue in Yemen for ninth day
Feb 19, 2011

Sana'a, Yemen - Around 500 people protested Saturday in front of Sana'a University in the Yemeni capital, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

'Leave, leave Saleh, our demands are clear,' they chanted and 'Ali, go after Mubarak.'

Meanwhile, over 100 pro-government demonstrators gathered nearby, chanting 'We want no one but Ali.'

It was the ninth day in a row that demonstrators had demanded the ouster of the president, who has been in power for 32 years.

Amnesty International has urged the Yemeni authorities to stop using excessive force to control anti-government demonstrations as continued violence against protesters across the country reportedly left several wounded.

Four people were killed and dozens injured on Friday in two separate attacks on protesters in the southern cities of Taiz and Aden, the website Yemenpost.net reported.

In Aden, two people were killed and an unknown number injured when security forces used tear gas, batons and stun guns to try to disperse protesters.
Another two people were killed in Taiz when a man threw a hand grenade from his car at a group of anti-government protesters. Forty- one people were injured.

Protests in several countries across the region have been inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt this year, which saw the overthrow in both countries of their long-time presidents.

monstersandcritics.com

Protesters clash in Yemen - CNN.com

Protesters clash in Yemen

From Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN
February 19, 2011 -- Updated 1223 GMT (2023 HKT)


Yemen unrest

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: One killed, five injured, witnesses say
• Saturday marks the ninth consecutive day of protests in Yemen
• Sources say gunshots were fired into the crowd

RELATED TOPICS

• Yemen

Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) -- Hundreds of Yemeni anti-government protesters clashed with pro-government demonstrators Saturday at Sanaa University, eyewitnesses and a local human rights group said.

Gunshots were fired into the crowd, leaving one dead and five injured, they said.

Four of the injured were hospitalized and are in stable condition, said Khulaid Mashraqi, a local doctor.

Two were shot in the leg while the other two had wounds to the head, according to the doctor.

"There were 30 to 40 pro-government gang members there that were randomly shooting at us," said Esam Al-Hajjaji, an anti-government protester who was shot in the leg.

Saturday marks the ninth consecutive day of protests in Yemen.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110219-...ts-saleh-sanaa

Latest update: 19/02/2011
- Yemen

Protester killed on 10th day of unrest in Yemen


Clashes between riot police and demonstrators in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa have left one dead and several injured on the 10th day of anti-government protests inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
By News Wires (text)

AP - Yemeni riot police in the capital shot dead a protester and injured five others on Saturday when they opened fire on thousands marching in the 10th day of unrest rocking the country.

Protesters began marching early in the morning from the University of Sanaa to the Ministry of Justice while chanting, “the people want the fall of the regime,” until they were met by riot police and supporters of the president.

The president’s supporters attacked the crowd and engaged in a stone throwing battle while at one point police fired in the air to disperse the march.

A medical official said one man was shot in the neck and killed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

It was the 10th straight day of protests in Yemen inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, which have killed seven people across the country. Demonstrators are calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh - a key U.S. ally in fighting al-Qaida terrorists - who has ruled the country for 32 years.

Meanwhile residents of Yemen’s port city Aden, where fierce riots have resulted in at least four deaths, said security forces have disappeared from the streets, threatening to plunge the city into chaos.

Residents say groups of men are looting and burning government buildings and there is no sign of police or armed forces.

Saleh is already facing a restless population, with threats from al-Qaida militants who want to oust him, a southern secessionist movement and a sporadic armed rebellion in the north.

To try to quell the new outbursts of dissent, Saleh pledged to meet some of the protesters’ demands and has reached out to tribal chiefs, who are a major base of support for him.

But a key chief from Saleh’s own tribe was critical of his policies and threatened to join the protesters - an apparent attempt to pressure the embattled leader of the world’s poorest Arab country.

For now, most of the protesters are students, educated professionals and activists who used social media sites Facebook and Twitter in summoning people to the streets.

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/20...21/138536.html

One protester shot dead in Aden

Thousands protest in Yemen urging Saleh to quit

Monday, 21 February 2011


Anti-government protesters call for the ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh

SANAA (Agencies) Thousands of Yemenis, including students and MPs, joined a protest near the university campus in the capital Sanaa on Monday calling on veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh to quit, an AFP reporter said, as a protester has been shot dead in the main southern city of Aden.

Security forces surrounded the protesters as they gathered in a nearby square carrying banners saying: "People want change," "People want to overthrow the regime" and "Leave".

Students, who have been protesting daily over the past week, were joined on Sunday by opposition MPs, who vowed in a statement to take to the streets.

Police forces, meanwhile, shot dead a protester and wounded four others in the main southern city of Aden, witnesses and medics told AFP.

Ali al-Khalaqi died of his wounds at a hospital in Aden. One of the four others receiving treatment is seriously wounded, medics told AFP.

Khalaqi is the 12th protester to die in Aden since Feb. 16, according to an AFP tally. Dozens have been wounded.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41699886.../?ocid=twitter

Yemen president rejects demand to step down



Muhammed Muheisen / AP Yemeni policemen push back government supporters raising posters showing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, as they shout at anti-government demonstrators, not pictured, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Some 3,000 students protesting at Sanaa University in the Yemeni capital seek to oust longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida, and have been inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

By AHMED AL-HAJ

The Associated Press
updated 51 minutes ago 2011-02-21T08:51:50

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's president rejected demands that he step down and said Monday that the widespread demonstrations against his regime were unacceptable acts of provocation, though he renewed calls for talks with the protesters.

After a week and a half of marches that have left nine dead, President Ali Abdullah Saleh told a news conference that he ordered the army to fire at demonstrators "only in case of self-defense."

Saleh has ruled the poorest of the world's Arab countries for three decades but the widespread demonstrations are putting heavy pressure on the U.S. ally.

Protesters are occupying a major square in Sanaa but Saleh said those who oppose his regime are not more than 200,000 people, compared to Yemen's population of roughly 25 million.

http://english.aljazeera.net//news/m...435580357.html

Demonstrations resume in Yemen

Protesters take to the streets of Sanaa for 12th day but Saleh insists he will step down after serving his term.

Last Modified: 22 Feb 2011 14:54 GMT


The protests broke out a day after a teenager was killed in a clash with soldiers in the southern port of Aden [Reuters]

Anti-government protesters in Yemen have resumed demonstrations to try to force Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president, to quit, burning a car belonging to his supporters in the capital Sanaa, reports say.

Tuesday's protests broke out a day after a teenager was killed and four people wounded in a clash with soldiers in the country's southern port of Aden, according to witnesses.

Demonstrators, inspired by revolts in Tunisia and Egypt that have forced long-serving presidents out of power, have been protesting for 12 days against the rule of Saleh, in power since 1978.

But mounting pressure has so far yielded little result as Saleh insists he will only step down after national elections are held in 2013.

He said protesters demanding an end to his rule could not achieve their goal through "anarchy and killing".

He told a news conference on Monday that he had ordered troops not to fire at anti-government protesters, except in self-defence, though medical officials say at least 11 people have been killed in demonstrations.

Saleh's government was already weak before the protests, facing a southern separatist movement and disaffected tribesmen around the country.

He has been quietly co-operating with the US in efforts to battle an al-Qaeda branch that has taken root in Yemen, but his government exercises limited control in the tribal areas beyond Sanaa. The US gives Yemen military aid and training.

Police back off

In Tuesday's protests, police seemed to back off slightly in at least one instance. Officers stood by as demonstrators marched in the eastern town of al-Shiher, chanting "Down, down with Saleh".

Thousands rallied at a university campus while hundreds continued to camp out in a nearby square, just the way protesters in Cairo did during the unrest that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

Protesters also set up checkpoints around the Sanaa square and searched those trying to enter.

In Taiz, Yemen's second-largest city, thousands of protesters marched in the Safir square. An activist, Ahmed Ghilan, said hundreds have been camping in the square for more than a week. They have renamed it "Freedom Square".

In the port city of Aden, schools closed, most government employees were not working and many shops were closed as hundreds gathered for another round of protests.

A spokesman for the opposition has rebuffed Saleh's offer of dialogue and an influential group of Muslim religious leaders has called for a national unity government that would lead the country to elections.

As anti-government protesters carried on, Saleh's supporters, armed with daggers and batons, clashed violently with students in Sanaa before police intervened.

Five people were hurt in the confrontation.

Swelling crowd

About 1,000 students had spent a second night camped at a square near Sanaa university, dubbed Al-Huriya (Liberty) Square, where they erected a huge tent on Tuesday.

The crowd swelled to about 4,000 and as the protesters moved from the square close to where Saleh's loyalists are bunkered down, the group attacked them with daggers and batons.

The students, some of whom were also armed with batons, responded.

"Thanks to Saleh, Yemen has remained one. I do not want him to fall," Hussein al-Yassin, a retiree, said as he fastened two red, white and black Yemeni flags on his car.

"Those behind the unrest are southerners being financed from the outside," the retiree said, repeating official views that unidentified outside forces have been behind the unrest.

The stability argument is rejected by unemployed Yemenis.

"Those who support Saleh are the ones who benefit from his rule," Ahmad al-Sharif, a 25-year old unemployed technician, said.

"Even if he is a good man, the corruption that he has allowed by the people around him is inexcusable."

Yemen's average per capita income is only $1,100 per year and the country is excluded altogether from the Global Competiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum.

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1...-demonstration

Yemeni students shot in demonstration

23 February 2011 | 1050 AM
Source: AFP


Yemeni anti-regime protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Sanaa, Yemen (EPA/YAHYA ARHAB).

Armed supporters of Yemen's government have shot dead two students and wounded 11 others who were holding a sit-in at Sanaa University demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, witnesses say.

Supporters of Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh armed with daggers and batons clashed violently with students Tuesday in Sanaa before police intervened, an AFP reporter said.

"Two demonstrators were killed and eleven others wounded when supporters of the regime opened fire on a sit-in in front of the campus of Sanaa University," one of the witnesses said.

The attack occurred around midnight Tuesday local time. Protesters and police attempted in vain to capture the assailants who managed to flee.

The fatalities were the first in the capital since demonstrations broke out against Saleh.

According to an AFP tally based on reports by medics, 12 people have been killed in Aden and dozens more wounded since February 16.

The interior ministry on Monday put the death toll at four, according to the official Saba news agency.

About 1,000 students had spent a second night camped at a square near Sanaa University, dubbed Al-Huriya (Liberty) Square, where they on Tuesday erected a huge tent.

The crowd swelled to about 4,000, and as the protesters demanding Saleh's ouster moved Tuesday morning from the square close to where Saleh's loyalists are bunkered down, the group attacked them with daggers and batons.

The students, some of whom were also armed with batons, responded.

Loyalists demonstrating in support of Saleh in central Sanaa have almost daily broken up students protests using batons and stones, with police also using violence that has left scores of demonstrators injured.

The ruling General People's Congress party meanwhile called for a "demonstration of millions" on Wednesday in Al-Sabiine square, near the presidential palace.

Also Tuesday, thousands of protesters took to the streets in several neighbourhoods of the southern city of Aden, calling on Saleh to step down.

The protesters marched against the regime in Crater, Al-Mansura, Mualla, Al-Tawahi and Sheikh Osman neighbourhoods.

Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse protesters in Sheikh Osman, Al-Tawahi and Mualla neighbourhoods, but no casualties were reported, witnesses said.

The protesters carried banners reading: "The people want to overthrow the regime" and "Go go Ali."

Hundreds took to the streets in Mualla where they blocked roads and set car tyres alight.

A tribal leader in the country's north said Monday that tens of thousands also demonstrated in the group's stronghold of Saada to demand the president step down.

The Zaidi Shiite rebel movement from 2004 fought six wars with Saleh's government before signing a truce in February 2010.

Around a dozen opposition MPs, who vowed to take to the streets in a statement issued on Sunday, have also joined students who have been protesting for the past 10 days.

But in power for 32 years, Saleh vowed on Monday not to quit under popular pressure and accused his opponents of fuelling the demonstrations.

Saleh, whose long reign makes him one of the Middle East's great survivors, said the protests were "not new."

"If they want me to quit, I will only leave through the ballot box," he told a news conference on Monday.

http://janenovak.wordpress.com/2011/...ment-protests/

Injuries and fatalities in Yemen after anti-government protests

February 26, 2011
Jane Novak

In what may be the bloodiest day yet since anti-government protests broke out in Yemen two weeks ago, residents around Aden are reporting numerous fatalities as security forces opened fire on protesters in many districts throughout the day and evening Friday.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement late Friday evening

The security forces opened fire in the afternoon in the al-Mu’alla district as more than 1,000 protesters chanting “peaceful, peaceful,” and carrying posters reading “peaceful” stopped about 100 meters from a line of approximately 100 military, police, and other security forces, the witness said. President Ali Abdullah Saleh had two days earlier promised to prevent clashes at anti-government demonstrations and protect the rights of protesters to assemble peacefully.

Police shot over the heads of protesters as well as directly into the crowd and fired tear gas. It was just one of many bloody scenes across Aden. A video shot outside the Aden Hotel in Khormakser that shows a crowd fleeing from live fire can be accessed at Youtube here. Government snipers were positioned on the roofs and tanks deployed early in the day.

A preliminary tally of fatalities by local sources indicates seven killed in Al-Areesh, four in Khormakser, at least two in Mallah, one in Tawahi, two in al Mansoura and one in Salahudin, with dozens more wounded. Efforts are underway by international organizations to document the full scale of the carnage.

If these figures hold, the death toll in Aden today exceeds that of all protest fatalities nationally since the fall of Tunisian president Zine bin Ali. The Yemeni protesters are calling for the resignation of the president, Field Marshall Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power since 1978.

Aden residents report that the dead and wounded lay in the streets, sometimes for hours, as live fire from security forces pinned down medics, ambulances and other concerned citizens trying to give aid. Several areas reported that homes were randomly strafed. Electricity was cut in many parts of Aden.

Gunshots were heard throughout the night with the last report coming in at 4 am local time, a full ten hours after the assault began.

International media sequestered in the capital Sana’a reported a party-like atmosphere as tens of thousands protested without incident. Similarly anti-government protests in Taiz, Yemen’s second largest city, were free from violence. Access to Aden has been nearly impossible for western journalists and the local journalists suffered a broad and brutal clamp down on the press that includes arbitrary arrests and imprisonment, fines, the shuttering of papers, physical assaults and slander.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Injuries and fatalities in Aden, Yemen after anti-government protests – National Yemen Headlines | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/yemen-headli...#ixzz1F2BpNvdv

19 fatalities of Aden’s February 25 massacre identified, updated 69 wounded named

Filed under: Yemen — by Jane Novak at 6:16 pm on Saturday, February 26, 2011


Yemen is refusing to release names of dead and arrested in Aden, increasing stress on families. The following is a listing of the 19 killed in the February 25th- 26th massacre compiled by highly reliable sources. We initially reported 17 were killed, ( write up here) and the death total may rise again in coming days. The address refers to the individual’s hometown, not location of death.

no. -name- age- address

1. Mohammed Ali Baashan 19, Mansoora
2. Yaseen Ali Ahmed AlSuraihi 19, Mansoora
3. Fadel Mubarak Al-Khanshi 23, Mansoora
4. Aref Mohammed Ali 18 , Mansoora
5. Abdullah Mohammed AlBan, 27, Mansoora
6. Mokbel Mohammed Ahmed AlKazemi, 18, Khormakser (AlAreesh)
7. Abdul Hakeem Mohammed AlKaladi, 21, Mansoora (Omer AlMukhtar)
8. Hani Mohammed Haitham, 22, Khormakser (Alsaada St.)
9. Hameed Hussain Hameed, 23, Dar Saad
10. Gassan Ahmed, 18 , Al-Memdara
11. Ali Mahmood Nagi Ali, 23 , Sheekh Utman
12. Mohammed Muneer Khan, 15, Mansoora (Omer AlMukhtar)
13. Ahmed Zaki, 16, Shekh Uthman
14. Ayman Ali Hussain Al-Naqeeb, 20, Shekh Uthman
15. Hisham Mohammed Qaed, 25, , Shekh Uthman
16. Ali Abdulla AlKhulaqi, 15, Khormakser
17. Ahmed Sabri, 19, Lahj
18. Hussain Al-Gahafi, Lahj
19. Aref Mohammed Awad, 17 Mansoora

Update: Below is list of 69 wounded, a partial list and Arabic only.

(click the link to see, I didn't think there was much point posting the Arabic names, as I'm not aware of too many Arabic speaking members here)

Of note, it is interesting to see that in a country such as Yemen, which is a poor country with dire infrastructure, a day after the deaths of 19 people, their names and cause of death is known about.

9 months later we are still unsure of how 91 people died in Bangkok.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110301-...itter&ns_fee=0

Latest update: 01/03/2011

Protesters take to the streets for new 'day of rage'


Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to Yemen’s streets Tuesday dedicating a new "Day of Rage" to the 24 people killed in protests in recent months and calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade rule.

By News Wires (text)

REUTERS - Tens of thousands of protesters flooded Yemen’s streets on Tuesday, dedicating a fresh “Day of Rage” to the 24 people killed in demonstrations demanding an end to the president’s three-decade rule.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a U.S. ally against al Qaeda’s Yemen-based wing, has failed to quell two months of protests in a country where half its 23 million people own guns, 40 percent live on $2 a day or less and a third face chronic hunger. Protesters are also angry at widespread corruption. Yemeni university graduates struggle to get jobs without connections and youth unemployment is high.

Yemen is also riven with regional strife, with Shi’ite rebels in the north and separatists in the south demanding fairer political participation.

Saleh has been meeting with tribal and regional military leaders to rally support, but with oil and water resources drying up, his cash-strapped government is no longer able to pay off allies to keep the peace.

Saleh offered talks to form a unity government on Monday. But the opposition swiftly rebuffed the offer, saying it was standing with protesters demanding he step aside.

In a meeting with religious leaders, also on Monday, Saleh warned that those behind the protests were dividing the country.

“They would not be able to rule for even one week,” he said, quoted by state media. “Yemen would be divided ... into four pieces by those who are riding the wave of stupidity.”

MOST VIOLENCE IN SOUTH

Most deaths since January were in the southern port city of Aden, where protesters and police have clashed regularly. Many complain that security forces have reacted more violently to protests in the south, which was once an independent state.

“With blood and soul we support you Aden,” protesters shouted on the streets of capital Sanaa. Al Jazeera television showed protesters making “V” for victory signs while others wore white headbands with “Leave” written in red.

Protesters in the last few days have chanted: “No to dialogue, no to dialogue, your leaving is the only option.”

Opposition to the 68-year old leader gained steam under students and activist leaders inspired by successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

“Victory is coming and it is near,” Hassan Zaid, an opposition leader, shouted to protesters in Sanaa. “We have one goal and one demand and that is the quick end of the regime.”

A top religious leader in Taiz, 200 km (125 miles) south of Sanaa, said he would join around 10,000 protesters who have been camped out in a central square for weeks.

DOCTOR KIDNAPPED, UNREST HIGH

Tribesmen kidnapped an Uzbek doctor working in the province of Shabwa, an area of central Yemen where both separatists and al Qaeda militants are active, late on Monday.

Abdulhamid Jun was taken to the neighbouring southern Abyan province, where an air strike against al Qaeda suspects in December 2009 killed dozens of people in the town of al-Maajala.

“They took him to pressure the government to hold the people behind the air strike accountable,” a tribesman in Shabwa told Reuters. “The people are upset with the government for not dealing with this issue.”

Jun was taken to a mountainous part of Abyan, where al Qaeda operatives are believed to be hiding and where several air raids have been conducted against suspected militant bases.

Yemen security forces have also come under attack in recent days. Two soldiers and an intelligence officer have been killed and at least 11 soldiers wounded. Four inmates escaped from a prison riot in the south that killed one prisoner.


TERRORISM
Key figures in al Qaeda’s Yemeni branch

BBC News - Yemen: US state department upgrades travel warning

6 March 2011 Last updated at 09:16 GMT

Yemen: US state department upgrades travel warning


Protests continue on and off against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in power for 33 years

The US has warned its citizens to avoid travelling to the Middle Eastern state of Yemen and says those already there should consider leaving.

The state department said the security threat level was "extremely high due to terrorist activities and civil unrest".

The travel warning comes a day after the UK issued similar advice.

There have been many anti-government demonstrations across several cities in recent weeks, with reports of fatal clashes between police and protesters.

Demonstrators want the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled since 1978.

The protesters want more job opportunities, an end to corruption, and a more even distribution of wealth.

The president has said he will not seek another term in office in 2013 but has vowed to defend his regime "with every drop of blood".

Yemen has also been hit by a separatist movement in the south, attacks by a branch of al-Qaeda, and a periodic conflict with Shia tribes in the north.

Evacuation options 'limited'

The US Department of State said it had authorised the voluntary departure from Yemen of family members of US Embassy staff and non-essential personnel.

The upgraded travel warning follows an attack on Sunday by suspected al-Qaeda militants east of the capital Sanaa, in which four soldiers were reportedly killed.

Unidentified men opened fire on the soldiers as they passed in a truck near Marib, about 170km (110 miles) from the capital, a Yemeni official said.

Earlier this week, rebels say the army fired rockets at an anti-government protest in northern Yemen, killing two people.

"Should a crisis occur, evacuation options from Yemen would be extremely limited due to the lack of infrastructure, geographic constraints, and other security concerns," the state department said.

It also said the US Embassy's ability to assist US citizens in the event of a crisis would be "very limited".

Piracy in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean is also a security threat to maritime activities in the region, the state department added.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42045486.../?ocid=twitter

Yemen police fire on protests; 3 killed


Muhammed Muheisen / AP A Yemeni girl gestures during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 11, 2011. Yemen's embattled president on Thursday proposed a new constitution guaranteeing the independence of the parliament and judiciary, but thousands of unsatisfied protesters poured into the streets to demand his ouster. Opposition leaders promptly rejected President Ali Abdullah Saleh's offer and called for mass demonstrations Friday, marking a month since the protests began. Arabic reads on the banner right, " After the blood shed you will not rule us". (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

By AHMED AL-HAJ
The Associated Press
updated 1 hour 17 minutes ago 2011-03-12T12:20:17

SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni security forces fired live bullets and tear gas on two pro-democracy demonstrations Saturday, killing three people — including a 15-year-old student — as the government clamps down on a growing protest movement, witnesses said.

The violence began with a pre-dawn raid on a central square in the capital, Sanaa, where thousands of pro-democracy protesters have been camped out for the past month to demand the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. An ally in the Obama's administration's fight against al-Qaida, Saleh has been in power for 32 years.

Doctors and eyewitnesses said security troops surrounded the square with police cars and armored personnel carriers shortly after midnight and began calling on protesters through loudspeakers to go home. At 5 a.m., security forces stormed in, firing tear gas and live ammunition.

One protester died from a bullet to the head, which may have come from a sniper on the rooftop of a nearby building, witnesses said. Abdelwahed al-Juneid, a volunteer doctor working with the protesters, said around 250 people were wounded.

"We were performing dawn prayers when we were surprised by a sudden hail of bullets and tear gas," said Walid Hassan, a 25-year-old activist. "The protesters began throwing rocks at security ... it was total mayhem, a real battlefield."

A few hours later, another protester was shot dead in a nearby street. Eyewitnesses said he was also shot by a sniper, but that could not be independently confirmed. Security officials did not have any immediate comment.

In the port city of Mukalla in the southeastern province of Hadramout, a 15-year-old was shot dead when security troops opened fire on protesters. Twelve people were wounded in similar violence in Yemen's southern province of Taiz.

Yemen's president of 32 years appeared to be one of the Arab leaders most threatened by the regional unrest inspired by pro-democracy revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. Demonstrators are demanding jobs and greater political freedoms. Saleh has tried to calm protesters by proposing that the government create a new constitution guaranteeing the independence of parliament and the judiciary — but protesters have said it's too little, too late.

Saturday's raid on the Sanaa square came after Yemen's largest demonstrations in a month Friday were met by police gunfire that injured at least six protesters and seemed certain to fuel more anger against the deeply unpopular president.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Yemen's four largest provinces, ripping down and burning Saleh's portraits in Sheikh Othman, the most populated district in the southern port city of Aden, witnesses said. In the capital, thousands of women participated in demonstrations — a startling move in a deeply tribal society where women are expected to stay out of sight.

By Friday evening, protesters in Sanaa had expanded the area of their sit-in encampment, further angering authorities and leading to clashes with plainclothes security men. Protesters said the men were carrying sticks, knives and iron rods. Four protesters were injured, witnesses said.

Yemen was chaotic even before the demonstrations began, with a resurgent al-Qaida, a separatist movement in the south and a sporadic Shiite rebellion in the north vexing the government, which has little control outside major urban areas.

BreakingNews Breaking News

British ambassador to Yemen advises all U.K. citizens to leave the country - Sky News

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...119867820.html

Yemen police fire on protesters

Scores of people injured as security forces shoot at pro-democracy demonstrators in a bid to disperse them.

Last Modified: 13 Mar 2011 11:49 GMT


Anti-government protesters have been camped out in Sanaa for days demanding the president step down [Reuters]

Scores of anti-government protesters in Yemen have been injured after security forces fired live rounds and tear gas at demonstrators in the capital.

Witnesses said police and supporters of the ruling General People's Congress party attacked protesters occupying University Square on Sunday with live gunfire and tear gas.

Several thousand people had gathered in Sanaa early in the day, setting up barricades in an effort to separate themselves from riot police.

Witnesses said most of the wounded were suffering severe effects from tear gas but some were hit by bullets and two of them were thought to be in a serious condition.

Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra reporting from Sanaa said security forces along with government loyalists started opening fire on the protesters, beating them with batons, throwing rocks and also firing tear gas canisters.

"At least 70 people have been injured, 14 of whom had bullet wounds ... two of them in very critical condition," he said.

"I've seen more than 40 people being carried to the makeshift clinic set up by the protesters, suffering from the suffocating effect from the tear gas."

Our correspondent said the day started relatively quietly with security forces deployed around the area when gunshots were heard and the scene became chaotic.

A statement from the United States on Sunday called for an end to the violence at protests in Yemen, which in total over the weekend claimed the lives of seven people.

"The United States is deeply concerned by continuing reports of deaths and injuries at demonstrations throughout Yemen in the past week," Philip Crowley, the US state department spokesman, said.

"We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives."

The latest crackdown comes as pro-democracy opposition groups and students escalate their campaign to remove Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's president for 32-years, from power.

Anti-government protesters have been camped out for days at Tagheer Square demanding Saleh step down.

Streets to the square were blocked with tents earlier on Sunday, many flying flags and other symbols denoting the provinces of demonstrators who have come from around the country to join the opposition sit-in.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...434957754.html

Yemen protest turns deadly

30 killed and scores wounded as government security forces open fire on anti-regime protests in the capital Sanaa.

Last Modified: 18 Mar 2011 12:13



Despite violent crackdowns, anti-government protesters say they will not cease demonstrating [AFP]

At least 30 people have been killed and scores were wounded after Yemeni security forces opened fire on protesters at University square, in the capital Sanaa.

Security forces opened fire on Friday, in attempts to prevent protesters from marching out of the square where they were gathered, sources said. Medical sources said the death toll was likely to rise.

Pro-regime "thugs" also opened fire on protesters from houses close to university square, witnesses told the AFP news agency.

Friday's attack came as tens of thousands gathered across the country, continuing to demand that president Ali Abdullah Saleh - the country's ruler of 32 years - step down.

Al Jazeera correspondents in Sanaa reported that many protesters were shot in the head and neck; most of the injured were shot with live ammunition.

Medics at a nearby medical centre told Al Jazeera almost 200 people were injured; many were in critical condition. One medic called the attack a "massacre".

Anti-government demonstrations were also held in other cities including Taiz, Ibb, Hodeidah, Aden, and Amran following Muslim midday prayers on Friday.

Standing firm

Ahead of the protests, hundreds of police patrolled the streets of Sanaa and elite forces set up fortifications around the presidential compound, ministries and the headquarters of Yemen's ruling party.

Government forces have previously used live fire, rubber bullets, and tear gas on anti-regime rallies, in the government's increasingly violent crackdown on protests.

Police used live fire and teargas on protesters in Taiz on Thursday, leaving many wounded.

At the same time, at least 20 people were injured in Sanaa, as security forces fired on demonstrators camping outside the university.

This came a day after at least 120 people were wounded in clashes in the port city of al-Hudayah.

Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula state neighbouring oil giant Saudi Arabia, has been hit by weeks of protests set in motion by uprisings in North Africa that toppled long-serving leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and spread to the Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Saleh has maintained a firm grip on power for over three decades and has scoffed at calls to step down, saying he will only do so when his current term of office expires in 2013.

Despite violence and threats, anti-government protesters refuse to cease demonstrating until Saleh's ouster.

Across the Middle East and North Africa, demonstrations continue, as protesters call for an end to oppressive and autocratic regimes.