"YEMEN PROTESTS CONTINUE -- Yemeni women flashed the victory sign during a demonstration in Sana demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh yesterday (Boston Globe September 9 2011)."
Then they were gunned down in the streets:
"Government forces kill 24 protesters in Yemen; Chances of deal to shift power suffer setback" by Laura Kasinof, New York Times / September 19, 2011
SANA, Yemen - Firing from rooftops and the back of pickup trucks, Yemeni security forces turned heavy-caliber machine guns and other weapons on demonstrators here yesterday, setting off battles between army defectors and forces loyal to the government in the worst day of violence in the capital since March.
The violence left at least 24 demonstrators dead and more than 200 wounded in Sana, where tens of thousand of protesters had gathered, and threatened to scuttle hopes for an accord between President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents....
And CUI BONO there?
The fighting also raised the prospect of open and more intense sparring among factions of Yemen’s divided military, which many here fear could lead to civil war....
The vacuum of authority has concerned US officials, who have struck at Al Qaeda cells with drone aircraft run by the CIA.
We were told the Pentagon ran this drone program, but what's the difference? A Predator by any other name..... (whooooosh, BANG)!!
Saleh remains in Saudi Arabia, where he has been recuperating from wounds suffered in a bomb attack on the presidential palace in June.
Originally we were told rocket attack, then the slip that it was an inside job. I think the media just confirmed it. I personally believe the CIA did it to get him out of the way.
The violence yesterday began as antigovernment demonstrators attempted to march for the first time in months beyond the part of Sana where they have camped in a sit-in under the protection of Major General Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar, leader of the First Armored Division and a staunch opponent of the president.
Notice how the sentence makes it appear that the peaceful protesters initiated the violence?
More than 100,000 protesters massed around the state radio building and government offices, the Associated Press reported, citing witnesses.
As they began to march, men in civilian clothes opened fire from rooftops, the protesters said, and government security forces shot at them from a Ministry of Electricity building and, using machine guns, from the backs of pickup trucks. The gunfire lasted about an hour.
So when does NATO start bombing?
A separate group of protesters marching on what is known as the Ring Road that runs around the capital was met with gunfire and tear gas as soon as it left the area controlled by the First Armored Division, an attack that continued into the evening. “I swear to God what happened today is a horrible massacre, and we are not able to even describe it that the regime would use this violence against peaceful protesters,’’ said Bassem al-Sharjabi, a lawyer who is one of the protest leaders. “This is a crime against humanity. We demand from the international community to intervene to stop these crimes.’’
I don't even think it is on the UN Security Council schedule.
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Yemen’s government issued several online statements accusing the protesters of staging an illegal march and saying that members of the Islamist political party started the attacks.
Does that slaughtering government have no shame?
It was an illegal march and the "terrorists" started it.
The attack on the protesters reflected the recent spike in tensions between the president’s security forces and the tribesmen loyal to his main rivals, the Ahmar family, who are not related to Ali Mohsin al-Ahmar.
In the past week, explosions rocked the capital, and tribesmen loyal to the Ahmar family and the president’s forces resumed fighting. There were fears that the latest attack on the protesters would lead to more such violence. Loud explosions and gunfire echoed across Sana into the night, though it was not clear from where it came.
The sit-in has woven itself into the fabric of the city. Protesters normally stay within its boundaries or stage marches within the territory controlled by al-Ahmar, who announced his support for the protesters in March after more than 52 demonstrators were killed by snipers linked to the government.
But because it's not Syria or Libya it barely raises a ripple in western capitals.
Al-Ahmar’s defection tore apart the Yemeni government, and negotiations began days later in an effort to force Saleh to give up power, but the president has repeatedly refused to sign any agreement.
It was unclear how yesterday’s violence would affect the delicate political balance in Yemen....
Yemen’s Ambassador to Spain, Mutapha Noman, said that the violence was a deliberate attempt to wreck any plans for a peaceful transfer of power....
Yeah, and WHO HAS NOT WANTED to TRANSFER POWER?
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"Yemeni protesters seize military base; clashes kill dozens; Takeover could signal start of regime’s collapse" by Ahmed al-Haj Associated Press / September 20, 2011
SANA, Yemen - Thousands of protesters backed by military defectors seized a base of the elite Republican Guards yesterday, weakening the control of Yemen’s embattled president over this poor, fractured Arab nation.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s forces fired on unarmed demonstrators elsewhere in the capital, killing scores, wounding hundreds, and sparking international condemnation.
And yet I am NEVER TOLD FROM WHO in this article.
The protesters, joined by soldiers from the renegade 1st Armored Division, stormed the base without firing a single shot, according to witnesses and security officials.
Some carried sticks and rocks. They used sandbags to erect barricades to protect their comrades from the possibility of weapons fire from inside the base - but none came - and the Republican Guards eventually fled, leaving their weapons behind.
Although the base was not particularly large - the Republican Guards have bigger ones in the capital and elsewhere in Yemen - its capture buoyed the protesters’ spirits and signaled what could be the start of the collapse of Saleh’s 33-year-old regime.
God willing.
“It was unbelievable,’’ said protester Ameen Ali Saleh, of storming the base on the west side of the major al-Zubairy road, which runs through the heart of Sana. “We acted like it was us who had the weapons, not the soldiers.’’
Because YOU DO!
You have the POWER of the PEOPLE!
The POWER of KARMA and the COSMOS and of HISTORY!!
"There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible. But in the end they always fall. Think of it – always"
“Now the remainder of the regime will finally crumble,’’ said another demonstrator, Mohammed al-Wasaby. “Our will is more effective than weapons. The soldiers loyal to Saleh just ran away.’’
As clashes continued into the night, several loud explosions rocked Sana, and a mortar round hit the Islamic University of Al-Iman, killing one and injuring two others. The cause of the explosions was not known....
Meaning it was government forces.
A final showdown may well pit the Republican Guards, led by Saleh’s son and heir apparent Ahmed, against the soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, another elite outfit that has fought in all of Yemen’s wars over the past two decades, and their tribal allies in the capital.
The Republican Guards and the Special Forces, also led by the president’s son, have long been thought to be the regime’s last line of defense....
The storming of the base capped two days of clashes in the capital that have left at least 50 people dead and nearly 1,000 injured, mostly demonstrators.
Government forces used snipers stationed on rooftops, antiaircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars against the unarmed protesters. An infant girl, a 14-year-old boy, and three rebel soldiers were among the estimated two-dozen people killed yesterday....
But because Saleh and his sons are seen as allies they aren't getting the Libya treatment.
Un-f***ing-believable.
Much is at stake in Yemen for the United States, its Gulf Arab allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, and other countries in the West.
Yemen is close to the major oil fields of the Gulf region and overlooks key shipping lanes in the Red and Arabian seas....
Yeah, and for that we will OVERLOOK MASSACRES and such that gain others condemnation and occupation. Any coincidence Somalia is across the Gulf of Aden?
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"Cease-fire begins in Yemen’s capital" September 21, 2011|Associated Press
SANA, Yemen - Yemen’s capital was mostly calm yesterday after a cease-fire negotiated by the country’s vice president and several Western ambassadors took effect, ending another day of violence that left 10 people dead, security officials said....
Oh, that's so wonderful that the West got in there and negotiated a cease fire as people were still being killed.
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That's who is paying the piper of a paper, and probably explains why it is such a one-sided pos.
The cease-fire emerged after street battles escalated yesterday, spreading to the home districts of senior government figures and other highly sensitive areas of the capital.
Oh, the CEASE FIRE CAME when the COWARDS were LOSING, huh?
The day’s violence included a mortar attack on unarmed protesters and left at least 10 people dead, medical officials said.
The violence came as protesters stepped up their campaign to topple President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and a key military unit supporting them was drawn deeper into the fighting. Saleh’s forces hit back with attacks by rooftop snipers and shelling of protest encampments....
Obama even mention Yemen at the U.N.? I no longer watch news so I don't know.
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As for the cease-fire, that was a ruse by the government so they could regroup:
"Yemeni forces attack mourners, protesters, kill 16; Cease-fire lasts less than a day in crackdown" by Ahmed Al-Haj Associated Press / September 22, 2011
SANA, Yemen - Yemeni government forces fired mortars at tens of thousands of mourners at funerals held for protesters killed in clashes and attacked an opposition base yesterday, shattering a cease-fire negotiated a day earlier to end the Arab nation’s latest bout of deadly violence. The two attacks killed 16 people.
An ABSOLUTE OUTRAGE and NOTHING from WESTERN GOVERNMENTS but SILENCE!
The mourners were gathered for funeral prayers for antigovernment protesters killed in a deadly three-day government crackdown in which the death toll topped 80 - a sudden increase in violence explained by protesters’ impatience with their longtime president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who they say is dragging his feet instead of signing a deal to step down....
I was just wondering HOW LONG they are supposed to WAIT, MSM?!!
Look at the AGENDA-PUSHING PIECE of SHIT blaming PEACEFUL PROTESTERS for the VIOLENCE!
Also in Sana, the headquarters of the renegade First Armored Division came under heavy shelling from government forces killing seven, including two civilians, and injuring 10 others....
The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed concern about “unprecedented level of violence.’’
That is the level of international condemnation in these reports. Not a word from governments.
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The targeting of the division’s headquarters is the latest indication that the fight over control of the Yemeni capital will primarily pit the rebel unit against the elite Republican Guards, led by Saleh’s son and one-time heir apparent Ahmed. Both sides claim about 20,000 fighters inside the capital, but the Guards have superior weaponry. Military specialists say the final showdown between them would be won by the side that shows better urban warfare techniques.
Ahmar’s office issued a statement holding government forces responsible for “breaching the cease-fire.’’
“This is an attempt to explode the situation militarily and to impose a situation that triggers confrontation,’’ the statement said, calling for international mediators to “discipline this gang and stop its barbaric actions.’’
And again NOTHING from the "international community."
Gulf and UN mediators appear to have given up on persuading Yemen’s opposition and the government to talk....
And I've given up on them.
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