Sat Dec 31, 2011
* Almost 100,000 displaced by army, militant fighting
* Militants block march, talks underway
* Saudi oil grant will cover needs for two months-min (Recasts with militants stopping march)
ADEN, Yemen, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Islamist militants fired into the air on Saturday to halt a peace march by thousands of Yemenis who were demanding an end to fighting that has forced them to flee their homes in the south, witnesses said.
Marchers told Reuters they were stopped on a 50 km (31 mile) walk from the port city of Aden to Zinjibar, capital of southern Abyan province where the army has been battling fighters suspected of having links with al Qaeda.
The southern fighting is one of many challenges facing the impoverished state, which has also been rocked by nearly a year of protests against the 33-year rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The United States, and top oil producer Saudi Arabia, are both concerned about the growing chaos in the country, which is close to oil shipping routes.
Analysts fear the unrest could be exploited by al Qaeda's arm in Yemen, seen as the group's most powerful branch.
The marchers said they were calling on both sides to lay down their arms in the south and demanding the government open the Aden-Zinjibar coastal highway, a key trade route which has remained closed during the conflict.
The protesters, who said 20,000 people took part in the march including women and children, told Reuters they forced their way through a military check-point on the road before meeting the militants.
"About 20 armed men shot in the air to stop us. They told us they had nothing against our returning home as long as we did not get involved in the conflict," Mahmoud al-Sayyed, one the marchers, told Reuters.
Some of the marchers turned back, while others were holding talks with the militants to convince them to allow the march to continue, Sayyed said. The militants said they wanted to keep the marchers away from the fighting for their own safety, said marchers.
"Our march is a message to the regime, the army and al Qaeda that we are the sons of Abyan ... and we are determined to return to our homes," said one marcher earlier, declining to give his name.
Saudi Arabia has backed a Gulf Arab peace plan to resolve the anti-Saleh uprising, under which the president handed power to his deputy. A presidential election is scheduled for February.
But the fighting against the Islamist militants in the south has continued, forcing about 97,000 people to flee. More than 300,000 others have been displaced by a conflict in the north, according to U.N. estimates.
FUEL LIFELINE
Separately, Yemen's oil minister said a grant of diesel from neighbouring Saudi Arabia would be enough to cover the country's needs for two months, easing some fears about the strife-hit economy.
Industry sources said on Thursday Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco was seeking to buy fuel in order to donate about 500,000 tonnes of products to Yemen in January.
It would be the second time in six months Saudi Arabia has thrown a fuel lifeline to its impoverished neighbour.
Sharaf also told Reuters production at the Masila oilfield - now under Yemeni administration after Canada's Nexen had one of its production contracts expire without renewal - was 70,000 barrels per day.
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Saturday, December 31, 2011
President Saleh now plans to stay in Yemen
(AP) December 31, 2011
SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's president now plans to remain in the country even after he steps down because protests that have spread to include employees of government agencies are threatening the rest of his regime, a senior member of the ruling party said Saturday.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for 33 years, had said he would travel to the United States in an attempt to calm tensions in his country after 10 months of protests seeking his ouster. Saleh signed a deal last month to transfer power in exchange for immunity from prosecution over the deadly crackdown on protesters.
The deal, brokered by Yemen's neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, has failed to end the unrest, however, because protesters in the streets want to see Saleh stand trial over the killings of hundreds of demonstrators. Instead, demonstrations have widened as employees stage sit-ins at government agencies and more members of the security forces rebel against commanders they accuse of corruption and playing a role in the crackdown.
"It is not possible in any way, shape or form to allow the collapse of state establishments and institutions that have been built over the last 49 years," Saleh said in a statement addressing the new threats.
He did not mention his plans to stay in Yemen, but Mohammed al-Shayekh, a leading member of Saleh's People's Congress Party, said separately that the president had decided to remain.
Meanwhile, the president's son, Ahmed, is leading a crackdown to purge the Republican Guard, which he commands, of any rebellious officers found to be siding with anti-government protesters, a military official said Saturday.
The Republican Guard is a pillar of Saleh's rule, and the attempts to ensure it remains loyal also point to an effort to keep the entire regime from unraveling in the wake of the deal for Saleh to transfer power.
Ahmed Saleh has had dozens of members of the powerful military force arrested so far, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Republican Guard has helped President Saleh maintain power despite the months of protests, intense international pressure and an assassination attempt in June that forced him to leave the country for weeks of medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The Guard, one of the best trained elements of Yemen's military, has not suffered a high number of defections like some other military units whose soldiers and commanders left to join the protest movement.
But with more frequent and serious acts of rebellion breaking out in other parts of the security services, the Guard's commanders are moving to prevent their ranks from doing the same.
The military official said Ahmed warned at a Guard meeting over the past week against "copying" the actions of others. They are searching units, barracks and have banned the use of cell phones inside the camp, the official said.
"We will not permit copying here. Force will be the way to deal with any protest," the official quoted Saleh's son as saying.
Some renegade units in other parts of the military have locked their commanders out of military installations and demanded the removal of officers accused of corruption or involvement in the deadly crackdown on protesters.
In a significant concession, the defense minister ordered the removal of a longtime Saleh confident within the armed forces, Ali al-Shater, known as one of the regime's strongmen. Protests by subordinates accused al-Shater of corruption and using his connections with the president to illegally amass wealth.
Another sweep in search of rebellious soldiers took place within the ranks of the Central Security forces, led by Saleh's nephew, Yahia, according to a Central Security official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of the security measures.
Hundreds of men in military uniform marched on Saturday through the southern city of Taiz, a center of the uprising, calling for trials of top commanders over the killings of unarmed protesters in the regime's crackdown.
Also Saturday, hundreds of thousands of protesters held demonstrations in the capital city of Sanaa and in several other cities. They vowed to stop Saleh from leaving the country and to force him to stand trial.
SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's president now plans to remain in the country even after he steps down because protests that have spread to include employees of government agencies are threatening the rest of his regime, a senior member of the ruling party said Saturday.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled for 33 years, had said he would travel to the United States in an attempt to calm tensions in his country after 10 months of protests seeking his ouster. Saleh signed a deal last month to transfer power in exchange for immunity from prosecution over the deadly crackdown on protesters.
The deal, brokered by Yemen's neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, has failed to end the unrest, however, because protesters in the streets want to see Saleh stand trial over the killings of hundreds of demonstrators. Instead, demonstrations have widened as employees stage sit-ins at government agencies and more members of the security forces rebel against commanders they accuse of corruption and playing a role in the crackdown.
"It is not possible in any way, shape or form to allow the collapse of state establishments and institutions that have been built over the last 49 years," Saleh said in a statement addressing the new threats.
He did not mention his plans to stay in Yemen, but Mohammed al-Shayekh, a leading member of Saleh's People's Congress Party, said separately that the president had decided to remain.
Meanwhile, the president's son, Ahmed, is leading a crackdown to purge the Republican Guard, which he commands, of any rebellious officers found to be siding with anti-government protesters, a military official said Saturday.
The Republican Guard is a pillar of Saleh's rule, and the attempts to ensure it remains loyal also point to an effort to keep the entire regime from unraveling in the wake of the deal for Saleh to transfer power.
Ahmed Saleh has had dozens of members of the powerful military force arrested so far, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Republican Guard has helped President Saleh maintain power despite the months of protests, intense international pressure and an assassination attempt in June that forced him to leave the country for weeks of medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The Guard, one of the best trained elements of Yemen's military, has not suffered a high number of defections like some other military units whose soldiers and commanders left to join the protest movement.
But with more frequent and serious acts of rebellion breaking out in other parts of the security services, the Guard's commanders are moving to prevent their ranks from doing the same.
The military official said Ahmed warned at a Guard meeting over the past week against "copying" the actions of others. They are searching units, barracks and have banned the use of cell phones inside the camp, the official said.
"We will not permit copying here. Force will be the way to deal with any protest," the official quoted Saleh's son as saying.
Some renegade units in other parts of the military have locked their commanders out of military installations and demanded the removal of officers accused of corruption or involvement in the deadly crackdown on protesters.
In a significant concession, the defense minister ordered the removal of a longtime Saleh confident within the armed forces, Ali al-Shater, known as one of the regime's strongmen. Protests by subordinates accused al-Shater of corruption and using his connections with the president to illegally amass wealth.
Another sweep in search of rebellious soldiers took place within the ranks of the Central Security forces, led by Saleh's nephew, Yahia, according to a Central Security official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of the security measures.
Hundreds of men in military uniform marched on Saturday through the southern city of Taiz, a center of the uprising, calling for trials of top commanders over the killings of unarmed protesters in the regime's crackdown.
Also Saturday, hundreds of thousands of protesters held demonstrations in the capital city of Sanaa and in several other cities. They vowed to stop Saleh from leaving the country and to force him to stand trial.
Yemen protesters demand end to southern fighting
ADEN | Sat Dec 31
(Reuters) - Thousands of Yemenis began a 50 km (31 mile) march on Saturday to demand an end to a conflict which has forced nearly 100,000 people to flee southern Yemen, residents said, a day after seven militants were killed in fighting there with the army.
Up to 20,000 activists set out from the port city of Aden towards Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province where the army has been battling Islamist militants suspected of having links with al Qaeda, residents said.
The marchers called on both sides to lay down their arms and demanded the government open the Aden-Zinjibar coastal highway, a key trade route which has remained closed during the conflict.
The militants and the Yemen-based regional wing of al Qaeda -- seen by the United States as the group's most dangerous branch -- have thrived during the instability caused by nearly a year of protests against the 33-year rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which shares U.S. concerns over more instability in a country sitting next to oil shipping routes, has backed a Gulf Arab plan to ease Saleh out of power.
Since Saleh handed over the reins to his deputy under the Gulf peace accord, a new government headed by an opposition leader has been formed. A presidential election is scheduled for February.
But the fighting against the Islamist militants in the south has continued, forcing about 97,000 people to flee. More than 300,000 others have been displaced by a conflict in the north and nearly 200,000 have sought refuge from Somalia, according to U.N. estimates.
FUEL LIFELINE
Separately, Yemen's oil minister said a grant of diesel from neighboring Saudi Arabia would be enough to cover the country's needs for two months, easing some fears about the strife-hit economy.
Industry sources said on Thursday Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco was seeking to buy fuel in order to donate about 500,000 tonnes of products to Yemen in January.
"Yemen's diesel consumption is 260,000 tonnes monthly, worth $280 million ... The Saudi grant will cover Yemen's diesel needs for two months," Oil Minister Hisham Sharaf told Reuters.
It would be the second time in six months Saudi Arabia has thrown a fuel lifeline to its impoverished neighbor, which Saudi officials fear could slip into civil war after a year of protests against outgoing President Saleh.
Sharaf also told Reuters production at the Masila oilfield - now under Yemeni administration after Canada's Nexen had one of its production contracts expire without renewal - was 70,000 barrels per day.
Yemen relied on 3 million barrels of Saudi-donated crude oil to run its refinery in June, when its main pipeline was shut after blasts, causing a fuel shortage.
The pipeline, which was repaired during the summer, was shut again after attacks in October. The lack of crude flow in the pipeline has also forced the Aden refinery, where production mainly meets domestic fuel demand, to halt operations.
(Reuters) - Thousands of Yemenis began a 50 km (31 mile) march on Saturday to demand an end to a conflict which has forced nearly 100,000 people to flee southern Yemen, residents said, a day after seven militants were killed in fighting there with the army.
Up to 20,000 activists set out from the port city of Aden towards Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province where the army has been battling Islamist militants suspected of having links with al Qaeda, residents said.
The marchers called on both sides to lay down their arms and demanded the government open the Aden-Zinjibar coastal highway, a key trade route which has remained closed during the conflict.
The militants and the Yemen-based regional wing of al Qaeda -- seen by the United States as the group's most dangerous branch -- have thrived during the instability caused by nearly a year of protests against the 33-year rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which shares U.S. concerns over more instability in a country sitting next to oil shipping routes, has backed a Gulf Arab plan to ease Saleh out of power.
Since Saleh handed over the reins to his deputy under the Gulf peace accord, a new government headed by an opposition leader has been formed. A presidential election is scheduled for February.
But the fighting against the Islamist militants in the south has continued, forcing about 97,000 people to flee. More than 300,000 others have been displaced by a conflict in the north and nearly 200,000 have sought refuge from Somalia, according to U.N. estimates.
FUEL LIFELINE
Separately, Yemen's oil minister said a grant of diesel from neighboring Saudi Arabia would be enough to cover the country's needs for two months, easing some fears about the strife-hit economy.
Industry sources said on Thursday Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco was seeking to buy fuel in order to donate about 500,000 tonnes of products to Yemen in January.
"Yemen's diesel consumption is 260,000 tonnes monthly, worth $280 million ... The Saudi grant will cover Yemen's diesel needs for two months," Oil Minister Hisham Sharaf told Reuters.
It would be the second time in six months Saudi Arabia has thrown a fuel lifeline to its impoverished neighbor, which Saudi officials fear could slip into civil war after a year of protests against outgoing President Saleh.
Sharaf also told Reuters production at the Masila oilfield - now under Yemeni administration after Canada's Nexen had one of its production contracts expire without renewal - was 70,000 barrels per day.
Yemen relied on 3 million barrels of Saudi-donated crude oil to run its refinery in June, when its main pipeline was shut after blasts, causing a fuel shortage.
The pipeline, which was repaired during the summer, was shut again after attacks in October. The lack of crude flow in the pipeline has also forced the Aden refinery, where production mainly meets domestic fuel demand, to halt operations.
Yemeni president's son purges rebellious officers
By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press
December 31, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The son of Yemen's outgoing president is leading a crackdown to purge the Republican Guard, which he commands, of any rebellious officers found to be siding with anti-government protesters, a military official said Saturday.
The Republican Guard is a pillar of the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the attempts to ensure it remains loyal point to an effort to keep the regime from unraveling in the wake of a deal for Saleh to transfer power after 33 years as president.
His son, Ahmed, has had dozens of members of the powerful military force arrested so far, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Republican Guard has helped Saleh maintain power despite 10 months of protests, intense international pressure and an assassination attempt in June that forced him to leave the country for medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The Guard, one of the best trained elements of Yemen's military, has not suffered a high number of defections like some other military units whose soldiers and commanders left to join the protest movement.
But with more frequent and serious acts of rebellion breaking out in other parts of the security services, the Guard's commanders are moving to prevent their ranks from doing the same.
The official said Ahmed warned at a Guard meeting over the past week against "copying" the actions of others. They are searching units, barracks, and have banned the use of cell phones inside the camp, the official said.
"We will not permit copying here. Force will be the way to deal with any protest," the official quoted Saleh's son as saying.
Some renegade units in other parts of the military have even locked their commanders out of military installations and demanded the removal of officers accused of corruption or involvement in the deadly crackdown on protesters.
In a significant concession, the defense minister ordered the removal of a longtime Saleh confident within the armed forces, Ali al-Shater, known as one of the regime's strongmen. Protests by subordinates accused al-Shater of corruption and using his connections with the president to illegally amass wealth.
Another sweep in search of rebellious soldiers took place within the ranks of the Central Security forces, led by Saleh's nephew, Yahia, according to a Central Security official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of the security measures.
Hundreds of men in military uniform marched on Saturday through the southern city of Taiz, a center of the uprising, calling for trials of top commanders over the killings of unarmed protesters in the regime's crackdown
Labor protests have also swept Yemen since Saleh signed the power transfer deal last month. The deal, brokered by Yemen's neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, grants him immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down.
He transferred power to his vice president and said he will leave the country and travel to the United States, though Washington has yet to say if he would be granted a visa.
The pact has failed to end street protests, however, because many still want to see Saleh stand trial.
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of protesters held demonstrations in the capital city of Sanaa and in several other cities and vowed to stop Saleh from leaving the country.
December 31, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The son of Yemen's outgoing president is leading a crackdown to purge the Republican Guard, which he commands, of any rebellious officers found to be siding with anti-government protesters, a military official said Saturday.
The Republican Guard is a pillar of the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the attempts to ensure it remains loyal point to an effort to keep the regime from unraveling in the wake of a deal for Saleh to transfer power after 33 years as president.
His son, Ahmed, has had dozens of members of the powerful military force arrested so far, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The Republican Guard has helped Saleh maintain power despite 10 months of protests, intense international pressure and an assassination attempt in June that forced him to leave the country for medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The Guard, one of the best trained elements of Yemen's military, has not suffered a high number of defections like some other military units whose soldiers and commanders left to join the protest movement.
But with more frequent and serious acts of rebellion breaking out in other parts of the security services, the Guard's commanders are moving to prevent their ranks from doing the same.
The official said Ahmed warned at a Guard meeting over the past week against "copying" the actions of others. They are searching units, barracks, and have banned the use of cell phones inside the camp, the official said.
"We will not permit copying here. Force will be the way to deal with any protest," the official quoted Saleh's son as saying.
Some renegade units in other parts of the military have even locked their commanders out of military installations and demanded the removal of officers accused of corruption or involvement in the deadly crackdown on protesters.
In a significant concession, the defense minister ordered the removal of a longtime Saleh confident within the armed forces, Ali al-Shater, known as one of the regime's strongmen. Protests by subordinates accused al-Shater of corruption and using his connections with the president to illegally amass wealth.
Another sweep in search of rebellious soldiers took place within the ranks of the Central Security forces, led by Saleh's nephew, Yahia, according to a Central Security official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because of the secretive nature of the security measures.
Hundreds of men in military uniform marched on Saturday through the southern city of Taiz, a center of the uprising, calling for trials of top commanders over the killings of unarmed protesters in the regime's crackdown
Labor protests have also swept Yemen since Saleh signed the power transfer deal last month. The deal, brokered by Yemen's neighbors on the Arabian Peninsula, grants him immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down.
He transferred power to his vice president and said he will leave the country and travel to the United States, though Washington has yet to say if he would be granted a visa.
The pact has failed to end street protests, however, because many still want to see Saleh stand trial.
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of protesters held demonstrations in the capital city of Sanaa and in several other cities and vowed to stop Saleh from leaving the country.
Friday, December 30, 2011
New island appears off Yemen after volcanic eruption
December 30, 2011
A new island has appeared off the west coast of Yemen following a volcanic eruption, Nasa has announced.
The US space agency's Earth Observatory posted satellite photos showing a plume of white smoke rising from the ocean near the Zubair group of islands in the Red Sea on Dec 23.
"The image from December 2011 shows an apparent island where there had previously been an unbroken water surface," the observatory said in a statement.
"A thick plume rises from the island, dark near the bottom and light near the top, perhaps a mixture of volcanic ash and water vapour."
New islands are created by undersea volcanoes every few years, but many are not strong enough to withstand the wind and waves of the open sea, volcanologist Rick Wunderman told CNN on Thursday.
He added, however, that the volcanic material in the Red Sea tends to be more durable.
A new island has appeared off the west coast of Yemen following a volcanic eruption, Nasa has announced.
The US space agency's Earth Observatory posted satellite photos showing a plume of white smoke rising from the ocean near the Zubair group of islands in the Red Sea on Dec 23.
"The image from December 2011 shows an apparent island where there had previously been an unbroken water surface," the observatory said in a statement.
"A thick plume rises from the island, dark near the bottom and light near the top, perhaps a mixture of volcanic ash and water vapour."
New islands are created by undersea volcanoes every few years, but many are not strong enough to withstand the wind and waves of the open sea, volcanologist Rick Wunderman told CNN on Thursday.
He added, however, that the volcanic material in the Red Sea tends to be more durable.
Activists in south Yemen burn election cards
Friday, Dec 30, 2011
Gulf News
Sana’a The secessionist movement in Yemen’s south stepped up protests and called on its supporters to burn their election cards to raise the pitch for an independent southern state.
Thousands of protesters marched though Yemen’s southern cities of Aden, Dhale, Radfan, Hawta, Ateg and Mukalla hoisting the flag of the former communist state chanting slogans against the government in Sana’a and urging people in the south to boycott the presidential election scheduled for next year.
“We have called all of the people in the south to burn their election cards to express our rejection of the election. We have a special ceremony tonight for this purpose,” an activist taking part in the protests told Gulf News.
Since it took shape in 2007, the Southern Movement has been calling for the disengagement of the former southern state that united with the North in 1990. Dozens of people have been killed when the government tried to crush protests.
Clashes with Al Qaida
Elsewhere in the south of the country, two soldiers were killed and seven injured in the last couple of days in fierce clashes with Al Qaida militants in the restive district of Zinjibar in Abyan province, a local source told Gulf News. Three militants were also killed in the clashes.
The self-styled Proponent of Sharia, an offshoot of Al Qaida, has seized control of large swathes of the province of Abyan and a city in the neighbouring Shabwa province since May.
Meanwhile, protests against outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh escalated yesterday in the streets of Sana’a and Taez.
Anti-Saleh protests
In Sana’a, a huge number of protesters marched demanding that Saleh and his aides be tried for ordering the killing of protesters.
Meanwhile, workers across Yemen continued strikes yesterday to demand the dismissal of long-serving officials loyal to Saleh.
Eyewitnesses in Sana’a said dozens of policemen arranged a sit-in demanding the removal of general Mohammad Abdullah Al Qowsi, accusing him of withholding their wages.
The unity government urged the civil servants to call of strikes against their managers and be patient and give it time to put in place its programme, promising to look into their demands, Saba news agency reported.
Gulf News
Sana’a The secessionist movement in Yemen’s south stepped up protests and called on its supporters to burn their election cards to raise the pitch for an independent southern state.
Thousands of protesters marched though Yemen’s southern cities of Aden, Dhale, Radfan, Hawta, Ateg and Mukalla hoisting the flag of the former communist state chanting slogans against the government in Sana’a and urging people in the south to boycott the presidential election scheduled for next year.
“We have called all of the people in the south to burn their election cards to express our rejection of the election. We have a special ceremony tonight for this purpose,” an activist taking part in the protests told Gulf News.
Since it took shape in 2007, the Southern Movement has been calling for the disengagement of the former southern state that united with the North in 1990. Dozens of people have been killed when the government tried to crush protests.
Clashes with Al Qaida
Elsewhere in the south of the country, two soldiers were killed and seven injured in the last couple of days in fierce clashes with Al Qaida militants in the restive district of Zinjibar in Abyan province, a local source told Gulf News. Three militants were also killed in the clashes.
The self-styled Proponent of Sharia, an offshoot of Al Qaida, has seized control of large swathes of the province of Abyan and a city in the neighbouring Shabwa province since May.
Meanwhile, protests against outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh escalated yesterday in the streets of Sana’a and Taez.
Anti-Saleh protests
In Sana’a, a huge number of protesters marched demanding that Saleh and his aides be tried for ordering the killing of protesters.
Meanwhile, workers across Yemen continued strikes yesterday to demand the dismissal of long-serving officials loyal to Saleh.
Eyewitnesses in Sana’a said dozens of policemen arranged a sit-in demanding the removal of general Mohammad Abdullah Al Qowsi, accusing him of withholding their wages.
The unity government urged the civil servants to call of strikes against their managers and be patient and give it time to put in place its programme, promising to look into their demands, Saba news agency reported.
New island appears off Yemen after volcanic eruption
December 30, 2011
A new island has appeared off the west coast of Yemen following a volcanic eruption, Nasa has announced.
The US space agency's Earth Observatory posted satellite photos showing a plume of white smoke rising from the ocean near the Zubair group of islands in the Red Sea on Dec 23.
"The image from December 2011 shows an apparent island where there had previously been an unbroken water surface," the observatory said in a statement.
"A thick plume rises from the island, dark near the bottom and light near the top, perhaps a mixture of volcanic ash and water vapour."
New islands are created by undersea volcanoes every few years, but many are not strong enough to withstand the wind and waves of the open sea, volcanologist Rick Wunderman told CNN on Thursday.
He added, however, that the volcanic material in the Red Sea tends to be more durable.
A new island has appeared off the west coast of Yemen following a volcanic eruption, Nasa has announced.
The US space agency's Earth Observatory posted satellite photos showing a plume of white smoke rising from the ocean near the Zubair group of islands in the Red Sea on Dec 23.
"The image from December 2011 shows an apparent island where there had previously been an unbroken water surface," the observatory said in a statement.
"A thick plume rises from the island, dark near the bottom and light near the top, perhaps a mixture of volcanic ash and water vapour."
New islands are created by undersea volcanoes every few years, but many are not strong enough to withstand the wind and waves of the open sea, volcanologist Rick Wunderman told CNN on Thursday.
He added, however, that the volcanic material in the Red Sea tends to be more durable.
Yemen protesters demand trial of President Saleh
December 30, 2011
Tens of thousands of people in Yemen have called for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to face trial for the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters.
After nearly a year of protests, Mr Saleh handed over presidential powers to his deputy last month and agreed to leave office in February 2012.
The deal also granted Mr Saleh, who remains honorary president, immunity from prosecution.
He has asked the US for permission to travel there.
US officials said Mr Saleh would only be admitted "for legitimate medical treatment" and that the request was being considered.
Mr Saleh was badly injured in an attack in June after which he spent several months in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
He said last weekend that he would leave for the US "in the coming days... to get out of sight... to calm the atmosphere for the unity government to hold the presidential election" in February.
But he has also said he would return later as "an opposition figure".
The anti-Saleh protesters are concerned that the president's inner circle, including his son, will attempt to hold on to power.
Mr Saleh has ruled Yemen for more than 30 years.
He has co-operated with the US in fighting al-Qaeda militants based in the country but came under increasing pressure from street protests from early 2011 to step down.
Yemen also faces separatists in the south, Shia rebels in the north, chronic unemployment and corruption and dwindling oil reserves.
Tens of thousands of people in Yemen have called for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to face trial for the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters.
After nearly a year of protests, Mr Saleh handed over presidential powers to his deputy last month and agreed to leave office in February 2012.
The deal also granted Mr Saleh, who remains honorary president, immunity from prosecution.
He has asked the US for permission to travel there.
US officials said Mr Saleh would only be admitted "for legitimate medical treatment" and that the request was being considered.
Mr Saleh was badly injured in an attack in June after which he spent several months in Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.
He said last weekend that he would leave for the US "in the coming days... to get out of sight... to calm the atmosphere for the unity government to hold the presidential election" in February.
But he has also said he would return later as "an opposition figure".
The anti-Saleh protesters are concerned that the president's inner circle, including his son, will attempt to hold on to power.
Mr Saleh has ruled Yemen for more than 30 years.
He has co-operated with the US in fighting al-Qaeda militants based in the country but came under increasing pressure from street protests from early 2011 to step down.
Yemen also faces separatists in the south, Shia rebels in the north, chronic unemployment and corruption and dwindling oil reserves.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Yemeni civilian killed in Sanaa clash
Clash between government troops and supporters of Al-Ahmar Wednesday leads to the death of a civilian as a military commission attempts to remove barriers near the interior ministry
AFP , Thursday 29 Dec 2011
A Yemeni civilian was shot dead Wednesday in a shootout between the Republican Guard and gunmen loyal to dissident tribal chief Sadiq al-Ahmar, witnesses said.
The clash broke out when a military commission attempted to remove barriers near the interior ministry in Amran Street, Hasaba neighbourhood, in an effort to return the capital to normalcy following unrest.
Three others were wounded in the gunbattle, witnesses said.
The commission plans to complete the lifting of barricades from the northern district of Hasaba by Thursday, said General Fadhel al-Qawassi, a member of the commission.
The commission was formed by Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi who has been charged with managing the transfer of power and designated to serve as a consensus president after the expected departure of Ali Abdullah Saleh in February.
The aim of the commission is to restore stability, as well as reforming the security service controlled partly by Saleh loyalists, in accordance with the transition deal signed by Saleh in November after more than 10 months of protests against his 33-year rule.
Violence in Yemen has continued since the agreement was inked.
AFP , Thursday 29 Dec 2011
A Yemeni civilian was shot dead Wednesday in a shootout between the Republican Guard and gunmen loyal to dissident tribal chief Sadiq al-Ahmar, witnesses said.
The clash broke out when a military commission attempted to remove barriers near the interior ministry in Amran Street, Hasaba neighbourhood, in an effort to return the capital to normalcy following unrest.
Three others were wounded in the gunbattle, witnesses said.
The commission plans to complete the lifting of barricades from the northern district of Hasaba by Thursday, said General Fadhel al-Qawassi, a member of the commission.
The commission was formed by Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi who has been charged with managing the transfer of power and designated to serve as a consensus president after the expected departure of Ali Abdullah Saleh in February.
The aim of the commission is to restore stability, as well as reforming the security service controlled partly by Saleh loyalists, in accordance with the transition deal signed by Saleh in November after more than 10 months of protests against his 33-year rule.
Violence in Yemen has continued since the agreement was inked.
US officials fear they were “played” in Yemen strike
December 29, 2011
US officials suspect that Yemen fed them false intelligence for a 2010 strike against Al-Qaeda suspects that killed a local leader locked in a dispute with the president's family, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The disclosure of such an incident would complicate relations between the two allies at a time when Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is seeking to visit the United States amid months of popular protests demanding his ouster.
The May 25, 2010 US missile strike, launched on intelligence supplied by the Yemeni government, killed Jabir Shabwani, 31, deputy governor of the central Mareb province, whose long-standing relations with Saleh's family had soured.
"We think we got played," the Journal quoted an official as saying, adding that other officials do not believe there was a Yemeni plan to kill Shabwani.
Saleh has been a key ally in the covert US war on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a group increasingly seen as a threat to the United States comparable to the global network's core leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Saleh has also faced months of massive protests demanding the end of his 33-year reign accompanied by growing unrest that further threatens stability in the impoverished and largely tribal country.
Earlier this month Saleh requested permission to visit the United States, setting up a dilemma for US President Barack Obama, who has relied on the Yemeni leader as an anti-Qaeda ally but has also voiced support for the pro-democracy revolts sweeping the Arab world.
The Journal said some US officials doubt the military was intentionally misled in the 2010 strike but said it raised troubling questions about the reliance on Yemeni security forces for intelligence.
The report also quoted Yemeni officials as denying that they had any knowledge that Shabwani was at the site of the air strike.
US officials suspect that Yemen fed them false intelligence for a 2010 strike against Al-Qaeda suspects that killed a local leader locked in a dispute with the president's family, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The disclosure of such an incident would complicate relations between the two allies at a time when Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is seeking to visit the United States amid months of popular protests demanding his ouster.
The May 25, 2010 US missile strike, launched on intelligence supplied by the Yemeni government, killed Jabir Shabwani, 31, deputy governor of the central Mareb province, whose long-standing relations with Saleh's family had soured.
"We think we got played," the Journal quoted an official as saying, adding that other officials do not believe there was a Yemeni plan to kill Shabwani.
Saleh has been a key ally in the covert US war on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a group increasingly seen as a threat to the United States comparable to the global network's core leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Saleh has also faced months of massive protests demanding the end of his 33-year reign accompanied by growing unrest that further threatens stability in the impoverished and largely tribal country.
Earlier this month Saleh requested permission to visit the United States, setting up a dilemma for US President Barack Obama, who has relied on the Yemeni leader as an anti-Qaeda ally but has also voiced support for the pro-democracy revolts sweeping the Arab world.
The Journal said some US officials doubt the military was intentionally misled in the 2010 strike but said it raised troubling questions about the reliance on Yemeni security forces for intelligence.
The report also quoted Yemeni officials as denying that they had any knowledge that Shabwani was at the site of the air strike.
Government's new plan neglects economic development in Yemen
December 29th, 2011
Both political sides convened in parliament this week for the first time in more than a year following a boycott by the opposition that began weeks before anti-government protests took hold in January.
The parliamentary sitting was chaotic. Armed men protecting rival politicians clashed and the building was thrown into darkness by the familiar power outages that have blighted the capital for more than nine months. The purpose of the meeting was the presentation of the new government's draft two-year programme. The 38-page document, which aims to "restore political stability and security to achieve safe power transfer in line with the Gulf initiative", was read out.
Despite International Monetary Fund (IMF) predictions that Yemen's economy would contract by 2.5 percent this year, there was no mention of economic reforms in the draft document, a point that was noted by several members of parliament present. Nearly 11 months of unrest have left Yemen's economy on the brink of collapse. IMF forecasts put this year's budget deficit at more than US$4 billion (Dh14.6bn).
Hisham Sharaf, former industry and trade minister, said last month that the political turmoil had cost the economy more than $8bn. Analysts say half the country's workforce is unemployed. "The crisis has depleted all the country's resources, and without foreign financial support, the government will only be able to partially implement its proposed programme," said an independent MP, Naser Arman. The amount of foreign economic support the country will receive next year has yet to be determined. Last month, Yemeni officials met with the IMF in Jordan. In 2010 the IMF approved a $370 million loan for Yemen. That money will help repay government debt, among other pressing needs.
Further IMF assistance has yet to be approved and the IMF declined to comment on Yemen's situation following last month's discussions. The conditions for further monetary assistance appear to rely on Yemen's political stability and economic reforms. The government's primary source or revenue is oil, accounting for 60 percent of income and 90 percent of exports, according to IMF figures. This year production was halted as oil and gas lines where damaged by anti-government tribesmen.
The Ras Isa offshore oil terminal in the Red Sea, which usually produces 110,000 barrels per day of exports, ceased production in March, and the Aden refinery was closed. Yemen has since relied on donations from Saudi Arabia and the UAE for oil. Electricity supplies also have been hit with many areas, including the capital, where residents and business have been restricted to an average of three hours a day of power.
"For months now we have been living in darkness. The price of fuel, gas, water, everything, is making living almost impossible," said Mohammed Farhan as he sat in his candle-lit shop. "If a political solution is not found, the alternatives are horrible: a civil war and an economic collapse," predicted Ibrahim Sharqieh, the deputy director for the Brookings Doha Center, this year. Sanaa residents have staged regular protests against power cuts and the rising cost of fuel and cooking gas.
The GCC deal has now provided a fragile political resolution. But foreign donors appear to be waiting to see how successful the transition process is at maintaining stability and addressing corruption. "Instability links directly to investor confidence," said Mr Sharqieh, a delay that Yemen's economy can ill afford.
Both political sides convened in parliament this week for the first time in more than a year following a boycott by the opposition that began weeks before anti-government protests took hold in January.
The parliamentary sitting was chaotic. Armed men protecting rival politicians clashed and the building was thrown into darkness by the familiar power outages that have blighted the capital for more than nine months. The purpose of the meeting was the presentation of the new government's draft two-year programme. The 38-page document, which aims to "restore political stability and security to achieve safe power transfer in line with the Gulf initiative", was read out.
Despite International Monetary Fund (IMF) predictions that Yemen's economy would contract by 2.5 percent this year, there was no mention of economic reforms in the draft document, a point that was noted by several members of parliament present. Nearly 11 months of unrest have left Yemen's economy on the brink of collapse. IMF forecasts put this year's budget deficit at more than US$4 billion (Dh14.6bn).
Hisham Sharaf, former industry and trade minister, said last month that the political turmoil had cost the economy more than $8bn. Analysts say half the country's workforce is unemployed. "The crisis has depleted all the country's resources, and without foreign financial support, the government will only be able to partially implement its proposed programme," said an independent MP, Naser Arman. The amount of foreign economic support the country will receive next year has yet to be determined. Last month, Yemeni officials met with the IMF in Jordan. In 2010 the IMF approved a $370 million loan for Yemen. That money will help repay government debt, among other pressing needs.
Further IMF assistance has yet to be approved and the IMF declined to comment on Yemen's situation following last month's discussions. The conditions for further monetary assistance appear to rely on Yemen's political stability and economic reforms. The government's primary source or revenue is oil, accounting for 60 percent of income and 90 percent of exports, according to IMF figures. This year production was halted as oil and gas lines where damaged by anti-government tribesmen.
The Ras Isa offshore oil terminal in the Red Sea, which usually produces 110,000 barrels per day of exports, ceased production in March, and the Aden refinery was closed. Yemen has since relied on donations from Saudi Arabia and the UAE for oil. Electricity supplies also have been hit with many areas, including the capital, where residents and business have been restricted to an average of three hours a day of power.
"For months now we have been living in darkness. The price of fuel, gas, water, everything, is making living almost impossible," said Mohammed Farhan as he sat in his candle-lit shop. "If a political solution is not found, the alternatives are horrible: a civil war and an economic collapse," predicted Ibrahim Sharqieh, the deputy director for the Brookings Doha Center, this year. Sanaa residents have staged regular protests against power cuts and the rising cost of fuel and cooking gas.
The GCC deal has now provided a fragile political resolution. But foreign donors appear to be waiting to see how successful the transition process is at maintaining stability and addressing corruption. "Instability links directly to investor confidence," said Mr Sharqieh, a delay that Yemen's economy can ill afford.
S. Arabia to donate 500,000T of fuel to Yemen-sources
DUBAI Dec 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will donate 500,000 tonnes of oil products to Yemen, which has been struggling to get fuel as its largest refinery has been shut for over a month after several blasts on its oil pipeline halted crude flow.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco will buy oil products from the market but will ask the supplier to discharge the cargo in Yemen instead of in Saudi ports, industry sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
"There is a government to government agreement between Yemen and Saudi Arabia where Aramco is buying the gasoline and gasoil and paying for it," one industry source said.
This would be the second time this year that Saudi Arabia would be throwing a lifeline to its impoverished southern neighbour, which relied on 3 million barrels of Saudi-donated crude oil to run its refinery in June, when its main pipeline was again shut after blasts.
The poorest Arab country has been in chaos this year with 11 months of demonstrations demanding the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule.
Its main pipeline carrying high-quality sweet Maarib crude is shut once again, after consecutive blasts on it in October. The lack of crude flow in the pipeline has also forced the Aden refinery, which mainly produces to meet the domestic fuel demand, to halt operations.
State oil giant Saudi Aramco will buy oil products from the market but will ask the supplier to discharge the cargo in Yemen instead of in Saudi ports, industry sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
"There is a government to government agreement between Yemen and Saudi Arabia where Aramco is buying the gasoline and gasoil and paying for it," one industry source said.
This would be the second time this year that Saudi Arabia would be throwing a lifeline to its impoverished southern neighbour, which relied on 3 million barrels of Saudi-donated crude oil to run its refinery in June, when its main pipeline was again shut after blasts.
The poorest Arab country has been in chaos this year with 11 months of demonstrations demanding the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule.
Its main pipeline carrying high-quality sweet Maarib crude is shut once again, after consecutive blasts on it in October. The lack of crude flow in the pipeline has also forced the Aden refinery, which mainly produces to meet the domestic fuel demand, to halt operations.
Why Obama Shouldn't Let Yemen's President Come to the U.S.
By Paul R. Pillar
Dec 29 2011
The U.S. is considering hosting Ali Abdullah Saleh for medical treatment, but his country's transition is too messy to be stage-managed from Washington
The most delicate visa application the State Department has handled in quite some time comes from Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president who is supposed to be on his way out of office but doesn't seem to be in the mood for retirement. Saleh has become a prime Arab Spring target as a longtime strongman whose departure many Yemenis now believe is worth fighting for in the streets. If Saleh comes to the United States, it would ostensibly be for medical treatment.
He no doubt really does need additional medical treatment; he was seriously injured in an attack in June. Saleh himself, however, has most recently said he feels "fine" and that if he makes the trip it would be less for health care than "to get away from attention." The difficulty of the issue is reflected in split editorial opinion. The New York Times says let him come here; the Washington Post says keep him out.
The wiser course is to keep him out. Saleh's case is a prime example of a situation in which the perceptions of U.S. motivations and interests will differ substantially from actual motivations and interests, and in which the perceptions will matter more. If the United States admitted Saleh, it would be for the laudable reasons not just of tending to his wounds but of increasing the chance of a constructive political process taking hold in Yemen. With Saleh no longer in his home country as a target of wrath in the streets and as an on-scene manipulator, perhaps a modicum of stability would ensue. But that's not how most Yemenis and probably most Arabs would see the U.S. role.
Saleh's presence in the United States would be perceived as confirmation that he is America's man, and was remaining so no matter how much he had been rejected by his own countrymen. The United States would thus share in whatever opprobrium or hatred was directed at the former strongman. Any suspicion that Saleh was continuing to manipulate events in Yemen from afar would be accompanied by the belief that the United States was intentionally letting him do so. These perceptions would foster the image of the United States being on the wrong side of the popular tide that is the Arab Spring.
It would indeed be helpful to Yemeni politics for Saleh to leave the country, but that does not mean the destination has to be the United States. Nearby countries have even more of a stake in Yemen and possible spillover effects of instability there than the United States does. Saleh's medical records must still be in Saudi Arabia, where he initially went for treatment after his injuries. Pakistani president Asif Zardari recently took a politically convenient trip for medical care in Dubai. Let the peninsular Arabs be out in front on this one.
No one, the United States included, will be able to stage manage events in Yemen over the coming months. Any thoughts of trying to make a difference by controlling Saleh's actions or communications while in the United States should be dispelled. The basic U.S. goal should be to try to be avoid being muddied by what will inevitably be a very messy situation in Yemen.
This article originally appeared at The National Interest, an Atlantic partner site.
Dec 29 2011
The U.S. is considering hosting Ali Abdullah Saleh for medical treatment, but his country's transition is too messy to be stage-managed from Washington
The most delicate visa application the State Department has handled in quite some time comes from Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president who is supposed to be on his way out of office but doesn't seem to be in the mood for retirement. Saleh has become a prime Arab Spring target as a longtime strongman whose departure many Yemenis now believe is worth fighting for in the streets. If Saleh comes to the United States, it would ostensibly be for medical treatment.
He no doubt really does need additional medical treatment; he was seriously injured in an attack in June. Saleh himself, however, has most recently said he feels "fine" and that if he makes the trip it would be less for health care than "to get away from attention." The difficulty of the issue is reflected in split editorial opinion. The New York Times says let him come here; the Washington Post says keep him out.
The wiser course is to keep him out. Saleh's case is a prime example of a situation in which the perceptions of U.S. motivations and interests will differ substantially from actual motivations and interests, and in which the perceptions will matter more. If the United States admitted Saleh, it would be for the laudable reasons not just of tending to his wounds but of increasing the chance of a constructive political process taking hold in Yemen. With Saleh no longer in his home country as a target of wrath in the streets and as an on-scene manipulator, perhaps a modicum of stability would ensue. But that's not how most Yemenis and probably most Arabs would see the U.S. role.
Saleh's presence in the United States would be perceived as confirmation that he is America's man, and was remaining so no matter how much he had been rejected by his own countrymen. The United States would thus share in whatever opprobrium or hatred was directed at the former strongman. Any suspicion that Saleh was continuing to manipulate events in Yemen from afar would be accompanied by the belief that the United States was intentionally letting him do so. These perceptions would foster the image of the United States being on the wrong side of the popular tide that is the Arab Spring.
It would indeed be helpful to Yemeni politics for Saleh to leave the country, but that does not mean the destination has to be the United States. Nearby countries have even more of a stake in Yemen and possible spillover effects of instability there than the United States does. Saleh's medical records must still be in Saudi Arabia, where he initially went for treatment after his injuries. Pakistani president Asif Zardari recently took a politically convenient trip for medical care in Dubai. Let the peninsular Arabs be out in front on this one.
No one, the United States included, will be able to stage manage events in Yemen over the coming months. Any thoughts of trying to make a difference by controlling Saleh's actions or communications while in the United States should be dispelled. The basic U.S. goal should be to try to be avoid being muddied by what will inevitably be a very messy situation in Yemen.
This article originally appeared at The National Interest, an Atlantic partner site.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Yemen government workers rally against corruption
By AHMED AL-HAJ
December 28, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Labor strikes spread through Yemen Wednesday as workers demanded reforms and dismissal of managers over alleged corruption linked to the country's outgoing president.
Corruption was one of the grievances that ignited mass protests against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in February. After months of stalling, Saleh last month signed an agreement to transfer power.
The deal includes immunity for prosecution for the longtime leader, but protesters reject that. They are also demanding that his relatives and associates, also suspected of corruption, be removed from their posts in the government and military and put on trial.
Months of political turmoil in Yemen, pitting tribes and army units against each other during mass demonstrations as Saleh fought to stay in power, have given the dangerous al-Qaida branch in Yemen more freedom of action. The Islamist militants have taken over territory in Yemen's south, including several towns.
The strikes are following a pattern. Workers lock the gates to an institution, and then they storm the offices of their supervisors, demanding their replacement with bosses who are not tainted with corruption allegations. So far the scenario has played out in 18 state agencies.
"This is the real revolution, the institutions revolution," said Mohammed Gabaal, an 40-year-old accountant who is on strike. "The president has appointed a ring of corrupt people all over government agencies."
The case of the Military Economic Institution stands out. Hundreds of workers demonstrated in front of the building on Wednesday.
The key agency hauls in significant revenues from naval transport and other investments, but its budget is kept secret. Striking workers are demanding dismissal of the agency manager, Hafez Mayad, who is from Saleh's tribe and is seen as one of the regime's most powerful and corrupt figures.
Opponents of the Saleh regime charge that armed civilians who attacked protesters in the capital of Sanaa got their funds from Mayad.
Other strikes are under way at the state TV, Sanaa police headquarters and another institution affiliated with the military.
The wave of strikes began last week when employees of the national airline, Yemenia Airways, walked off their jobs demanding dismissal of the director, Saleh's son-in-law, charging him with plundering the company's assets and driving it into bankruptcy. The government gave in to the demands.
December 28, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Labor strikes spread through Yemen Wednesday as workers demanded reforms and dismissal of managers over alleged corruption linked to the country's outgoing president.
Corruption was one of the grievances that ignited mass protests against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in February. After months of stalling, Saleh last month signed an agreement to transfer power.
The deal includes immunity for prosecution for the longtime leader, but protesters reject that. They are also demanding that his relatives and associates, also suspected of corruption, be removed from their posts in the government and military and put on trial.
Months of political turmoil in Yemen, pitting tribes and army units against each other during mass demonstrations as Saleh fought to stay in power, have given the dangerous al-Qaida branch in Yemen more freedom of action. The Islamist militants have taken over territory in Yemen's south, including several towns.
The strikes are following a pattern. Workers lock the gates to an institution, and then they storm the offices of their supervisors, demanding their replacement with bosses who are not tainted with corruption allegations. So far the scenario has played out in 18 state agencies.
"This is the real revolution, the institutions revolution," said Mohammed Gabaal, an 40-year-old accountant who is on strike. "The president has appointed a ring of corrupt people all over government agencies."
The case of the Military Economic Institution stands out. Hundreds of workers demonstrated in front of the building on Wednesday.
The key agency hauls in significant revenues from naval transport and other investments, but its budget is kept secret. Striking workers are demanding dismissal of the agency manager, Hafez Mayad, who is from Saleh's tribe and is seen as one of the regime's most powerful and corrupt figures.
Opponents of the Saleh regime charge that armed civilians who attacked protesters in the capital of Sanaa got their funds from Mayad.
Other strikes are under way at the state TV, Sanaa police headquarters and another institution affiliated with the military.
The wave of strikes began last week when employees of the national airline, Yemenia Airways, walked off their jobs demanding dismissal of the director, Saleh's son-in-law, charging him with plundering the company's assets and driving it into bankruptcy. The government gave in to the demands.
Yemen: Saleh 'chose Abu Dhabi for exile
Sanaa, 28 Dec. (AKI) - Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh has chosen Abu Dhabi as his place of exile, according to Yemeni weekly al-Wasat.
Saleh will go into exile in the United Arab Emirates' capital and second-largest city after he recovers from medical treatment in the United States.
The United States said it agreed in principle to grant Saleh a visa so he can be treated at at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for problems stemming from wounds he suffered during a bomb attack on the Presidential Palace mosque in Sanaa.
Saleh would go into exile with 50 other people, including his wife, children and their spouses, and grandchildren, according to the report.
The embattled leader of Yemen for around 30 years has agreed to transfer power in exchange for immunity from prosecution for any possible role he played in the killing of anti-government protesters. Critics of the deal say he should stand trial.
In announcing his intention to travel to the US, Saleh referred to the trip as ''temporary exile.
"I will go to the United States. Not for treatment, because I'm fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections," reports quoted him as saying.
"I'll be there for several days, but I'll return because I won't leave my people and comrades who have been steadfast for 11 months," Saleh said, hours after fresh reports of fatalities at the hands of Yemeni security forces.
Saleh in November handed power to vice-president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi Hadi after signing a Gulf Co-operation Council-brokered agreement that gave him immunity.
Saleh will go into exile in the United Arab Emirates' capital and second-largest city after he recovers from medical treatment in the United States.
The United States said it agreed in principle to grant Saleh a visa so he can be treated at at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital for problems stemming from wounds he suffered during a bomb attack on the Presidential Palace mosque in Sanaa.
Saleh would go into exile with 50 other people, including his wife, children and their spouses, and grandchildren, according to the report.
The embattled leader of Yemen for around 30 years has agreed to transfer power in exchange for immunity from prosecution for any possible role he played in the killing of anti-government protesters. Critics of the deal say he should stand trial.
In announcing his intention to travel to the US, Saleh referred to the trip as ''temporary exile.
"I will go to the United States. Not for treatment, because I'm fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections," reports quoted him as saying.
"I'll be there for several days, but I'll return because I won't leave my people and comrades who have been steadfast for 11 months," Saleh said, hours after fresh reports of fatalities at the hands of Yemeni security forces.
Saleh in November handed power to vice-president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi Hadi after signing a Gulf Co-operation Council-brokered agreement that gave him immunity.
5 killed as Yemen army, militants clash in south
28 December 2011
ADEN -(AFP) Yemen’s army exchanged machinegun fire with Al-Qaeda suspects in the country’s south in clashes that left two soldiers and three extremists dead, military and local officials said on Wednesday.
“Battles using machineguns erupted on the eastern outskirts of the city of Zinjibar, leaving two soldiers dead and seven others wounded,” a military official told AFP, referring to the capital of Abyan province.
The wounded were taken to a military hospital in nearby Aden for treatment, the same source said.
Three militants from the Partisans of Sharia, the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May, were also killed in the clashes late on Tuesday and at least five were wounded.
A local official in the adjacent town of Jaar confirmed the toll, adding that the three dead militants were a Syrian, a Saudi and a Yemeni.
The army also fired Katyusha rockets at the extremists’ hideouts in several areas across the outskirts of Zinjibar, the military official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the country to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in southern and eastern Yemen.
Militants linked to Al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia.
ADEN -(AFP) Yemen’s army exchanged machinegun fire with Al-Qaeda suspects in the country’s south in clashes that left two soldiers and three extremists dead, military and local officials said on Wednesday.
“Battles using machineguns erupted on the eastern outskirts of the city of Zinjibar, leaving two soldiers dead and seven others wounded,” a military official told AFP, referring to the capital of Abyan province.
The wounded were taken to a military hospital in nearby Aden for treatment, the same source said.
Three militants from the Partisans of Sharia, the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May, were also killed in the clashes late on Tuesday and at least five were wounded.
A local official in the adjacent town of Jaar confirmed the toll, adding that the three dead militants were a Syrian, a Saudi and a Yemeni.
The army also fired Katyusha rockets at the extremists’ hideouts in several areas across the outskirts of Zinjibar, the military official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the country to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in southern and eastern Yemen.
Militants linked to Al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia.
Yemenis, on Strike, Demand That Their Managers Be Fired
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 28, 2011
SANA, Yemen (AP) — Strikes spread through Yemen on Wednesday as workers demanded reforms and the dismissal of managers over accusations of corruption linked to the country’s departing president.
Corruption was one of the grievances that ignited mass protests against the long rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh last February. After months of stalling, Mr. Saleh last month signed an agreement to transfer power.
The agreement includes immunity from prosecution for Mr. Saleh, but the demonstrators reject that. They are demanding as well that his relatives and associates, also suspected of corruption, be removed from their posts in the government and the military and be put on trial.
The strikes are following a pattern. Workers lock the gates to an institution and then storm the offices of their supervisors, demanding new bosses who are not seen as tainted by connections to the old government. So far, the chain of events has played out in 18 state agencies.
“This is the real revolution, the institutions revolution,” said Mohammed Gabaal, 40, an accountant who is on strike. “The president has appointed a ring of corrupt people all over government agencies.”
The case of the Military Economic Institution stands out. Hundreds of workers demonstrated in front of the building on Wednesday. The agency collects significant revenues from naval transport and other investments, but its budget is kept secret.
Striking workers are demanding the dismissal of the agency manager, Hafez Mayad, who is from Mr. Saleh’s tribe and is seen as one of the government’s most powerful and corrupt figures.
Opponents of the Saleh government charge that armed civilians who attacked protesters in Sana, the capital, got their funds from Mr. Mayad.
The wave of labor unrest began last week when employees of the national airline, Yemenia Airways, walked off their jobs, demanding dismissal of the director, a son-in-law of Mr. Saleh. The strikers accused him of plundering the company’s assets and driving it into bankruptcy. The government gave in to the demands.
Months of turmoil in Yemen have given Islamic militants more freedom of action.
December 28, 2011
SANA, Yemen (AP) — Strikes spread through Yemen on Wednesday as workers demanded reforms and the dismissal of managers over accusations of corruption linked to the country’s departing president.
Corruption was one of the grievances that ignited mass protests against the long rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh last February. After months of stalling, Mr. Saleh last month signed an agreement to transfer power.
The agreement includes immunity from prosecution for Mr. Saleh, but the demonstrators reject that. They are demanding as well that his relatives and associates, also suspected of corruption, be removed from their posts in the government and the military and be put on trial.
The strikes are following a pattern. Workers lock the gates to an institution and then storm the offices of their supervisors, demanding new bosses who are not seen as tainted by connections to the old government. So far, the chain of events has played out in 18 state agencies.
“This is the real revolution, the institutions revolution,” said Mohammed Gabaal, 40, an accountant who is on strike. “The president has appointed a ring of corrupt people all over government agencies.”
The case of the Military Economic Institution stands out. Hundreds of workers demonstrated in front of the building on Wednesday. The agency collects significant revenues from naval transport and other investments, but its budget is kept secret.
Striking workers are demanding the dismissal of the agency manager, Hafez Mayad, who is from Mr. Saleh’s tribe and is seen as one of the government’s most powerful and corrupt figures.
Opponents of the Saleh government charge that armed civilians who attacked protesters in Sana, the capital, got their funds from Mr. Mayad.
The wave of labor unrest began last week when employees of the national airline, Yemenia Airways, walked off their jobs, demanding dismissal of the director, a son-in-law of Mr. Saleh. The strikers accused him of plundering the company’s assets and driving it into bankruptcy. The government gave in to the demands.
Months of turmoil in Yemen have given Islamic militants more freedom of action.
Yemeni leader’s request for U.S. visa still in flux
By Sudarsan Raghavan and David Nakamura,
December 28, 2011
A senior Yemeni official said Tuesday that the Obama administration has assured the government that President Ali Abdullah Saleh will be allowed to enter the United States to receive medical treatment, a decision that could prove politically dicey if it actually occurs.
The State Department strongly denied that a decision had been reached, saying that it is still reviewing Saleh’s visa application. The department stressed that it would not allow Saleh entrance for any other reason than legitimate medical concerns.
Contrary to some reports that we’ve seen, that permission has not been granted yet,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
But a top adviser to Saleh expressed surprise Tuesday at the denials, saying the Yemeni government was told by the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa that the visa had been approved.
“We were informed yesterday from the American Embassy about the arrival of the visa,” said Sultan al-Barakani, a senior ruling party official. “They called us again today and confirmed the visa. And they requested to know the date of the travel and the route.”
When asked whether the visa was contingent on Saleh receiving medical treatment, Barakani said it was “unconditional.”
The White House deliberations reflect a sensitive political calculus. The administration is trying to help orchestrate a smooth transition in Yemen, where Saleh has ruled for 33 years. But the U.S. government does not want to appear to be supporting a repressive strongman — a politician many Yemenis want to face trial for the deaths of hundreds of political dissidents over the years.
Demonstrators have called since January for his removal, and Saleh has formally relinquished power to his vice president in anticipation of a presidential election in February.
But Saleh remains in the presidential palace and is widely believed to still be in charge. Government forces controlled by his son shot and killed nine demonstrators who took part in a protest march last weekend.
Saleh, who suffered serious wounds in a June attack on the palace, told reporters Saturday that he would leave the country for the United States. He suggested he would undergo medical tests but described his plans more in terms of temporary exile, the Reuters news agency reported.
“I will go to the United States,” Saleh said. “Not for treatment, because I’m fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections.” He said he would “be there for several days, but I’ll return because I won’t leave my people and comrades.”
In Honolulu, where President Obama is vacationing, a White House spokesman denied a New York Times report that the Obama administration had granted Saleh’s request and that he could be admitted to a hospital in New York this week. The newspaper subsequently retracted the report and said the decision had been made in principle, subject to conditions including Saleh submitting an itinerary.
“U.S. officials are continuing to consider President Saleh’s request to enter the country for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment, but initial reports that permission has already been granted are not true,” deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday.
Asked about Saleh’s request to travel to the United States, a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Sanaa said Tuesday, “It’s something under consideration.”
Yemen’s deputy information minister, Abdu al-Janadi, also said there were no dates, itinerary or a visa issued for a trip.
But he said Yemeni officials were under the impression that the United States had approved Saleh’s visit for medical treatment. Janadi said heading to the United States or Europe for medical treatment was one of Saleh’s conditions for stepping down as part of an agreement with the U.N. Security Council.
“The president has decided to go to the United States for a medical checkup and to stay away from Yemen so that the coalition government could go ahead and do whatever it has to do, and so that no one places the blame on the president if things don’t go correctly regarding the elections,” Janadi said.
But he also said that Saleh may postpone his trip because of the political situation. The political opposition — the Joint Meeting Parties, or JMP — has been trying to oust some of Saleh’s loyalists from key positions.
“The president is reconsidering his decision about traveling due to JMP showing bad intentions,” Janadi said. “The president sees that it’s important to fix what’s going on prior to making any decisions in terms of traveling.”
Raghavan reported from Nairobi, Nakamura from Honolulu. Staff writer Joby Warrick in Washington and special correspondent Ali Almujahed in Sanaa contributed to this report.
December 28, 2011
A senior Yemeni official said Tuesday that the Obama administration has assured the government that President Ali Abdullah Saleh will be allowed to enter the United States to receive medical treatment, a decision that could prove politically dicey if it actually occurs.
The State Department strongly denied that a decision had been reached, saying that it is still reviewing Saleh’s visa application. The department stressed that it would not allow Saleh entrance for any other reason than legitimate medical concerns.
Contrary to some reports that we’ve seen, that permission has not been granted yet,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
But a top adviser to Saleh expressed surprise Tuesday at the denials, saying the Yemeni government was told by the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa that the visa had been approved.
“We were informed yesterday from the American Embassy about the arrival of the visa,” said Sultan al-Barakani, a senior ruling party official. “They called us again today and confirmed the visa. And they requested to know the date of the travel and the route.”
When asked whether the visa was contingent on Saleh receiving medical treatment, Barakani said it was “unconditional.”
The White House deliberations reflect a sensitive political calculus. The administration is trying to help orchestrate a smooth transition in Yemen, where Saleh has ruled for 33 years. But the U.S. government does not want to appear to be supporting a repressive strongman — a politician many Yemenis want to face trial for the deaths of hundreds of political dissidents over the years.
Demonstrators have called since January for his removal, and Saleh has formally relinquished power to his vice president in anticipation of a presidential election in February.
But Saleh remains in the presidential palace and is widely believed to still be in charge. Government forces controlled by his son shot and killed nine demonstrators who took part in a protest march last weekend.
Saleh, who suffered serious wounds in a June attack on the palace, told reporters Saturday that he would leave the country for the United States. He suggested he would undergo medical tests but described his plans more in terms of temporary exile, the Reuters news agency reported.
“I will go to the United States,” Saleh said. “Not for treatment, because I’m fine, but to get away from attention, cameras, and allow the unity government to prepare properly for elections.” He said he would “be there for several days, but I’ll return because I won’t leave my people and comrades.”
In Honolulu, where President Obama is vacationing, a White House spokesman denied a New York Times report that the Obama administration had granted Saleh’s request and that he could be admitted to a hospital in New York this week. The newspaper subsequently retracted the report and said the decision had been made in principle, subject to conditions including Saleh submitting an itinerary.
“U.S. officials are continuing to consider President Saleh’s request to enter the country for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment, but initial reports that permission has already been granted are not true,” deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday.
Asked about Saleh’s request to travel to the United States, a U.S. Embassy spokesman in Sanaa said Tuesday, “It’s something under consideration.”
Yemen’s deputy information minister, Abdu al-Janadi, also said there were no dates, itinerary or a visa issued for a trip.
But he said Yemeni officials were under the impression that the United States had approved Saleh’s visit for medical treatment. Janadi said heading to the United States or Europe for medical treatment was one of Saleh’s conditions for stepping down as part of an agreement with the U.N. Security Council.
“The president has decided to go to the United States for a medical checkup and to stay away from Yemen so that the coalition government could go ahead and do whatever it has to do, and so that no one places the blame on the president if things don’t go correctly regarding the elections,” Janadi said.
But he also said that Saleh may postpone his trip because of the political situation. The political opposition — the Joint Meeting Parties, or JMP — has been trying to oust some of Saleh’s loyalists from key positions.
“The president is reconsidering his decision about traveling due to JMP showing bad intentions,” Janadi said. “The president sees that it’s important to fix what’s going on prior to making any decisions in terms of traveling.”
Raghavan reported from Nairobi, Nakamura from Honolulu. Staff writer Joby Warrick in Washington and special correspondent Ali Almujahed in Sanaa contributed to this report.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Street fights hit Yemen as US mulls letting in Saleh
By Mohammed Ghobari
Tue Dec 27, 2011
SANAA (Reuters) - Foes and backers of a plan to ease Yemen's president out of power fought each other with stones and clubs on Tuesday, deepening the country's chaos as Washington said it was considering a request from the leader to fly to the United States.
Youth activists, who have led months of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule, were split on him leaving the country - saying it might ease the conflict but could also let him escape justice.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh bowed to months of protests and international pressure by agreeing last month to a deal that would grant him immunity from prosecution over his violent crackdown on the uprising but see him hand over power to his deputy.
Far from resolving the crisis, the settlement has sparked further tension between groups who opposed the immunity deal, and groups who backed it - many of whom have since joined an interim government.
Activists said least 20 people were injured in the clashes in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday between supporters of the Islah party, which backed the immunity deal, and the Houthi movement, a Shi'ite rebel grouping in the north of the country.
Washington and top oil producer Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen, both fear continued chaos would allow al Qaeda to build on its already strong presence in the country, which lies close to key oil shipping lanes.
After another bout of violence on Saturday - when protesters said Saleh's forces killed nine people who had joined a mass march against the immunity deal - the president vowed to give way to a successor and go to the United States.
A White House spokesman late on Monday said the U.S. government was trying to decide whether to allow Saleh to travel to the United States, adding that the president had requested medical treatment.
Anti-Saleh protesters said they were in two minds about the possible U.S. trip.
"We are at a loss, between our desire to see Saleh go and avoid Yemen sliding into civil war, and the desire to see him tried for his crimes," said Samia al-Aghbari, a protest leader who was detained briefly after Saturday's violence.
"If he (Saleh) is away and forbidden from being part of the political atmosphere in Yemen, it may help, I see the point of that. But he still has money and weapons in the country and if this doesn't change, nothing will change at any level in Yemen," said activist Hamza Shargabi.
OVERLAPPING CONFLICTS
Any suggestion that Saleh is taking up sanctuary in the United States would be highly controversial among activists and opposition figures who have accused Washington of backing Saleh as an ally in the campaign against al Qaeda.
"He has this relation with the U.S., its war on terror, and torturing people in the name of that war, and putting people in prison," said Shargabi. "Anything can happen in the name of the war on terror."
Hostility against the United States was fanned by Yemeni media reports that Washington's envoy in Sanaa described Saturday's march as a provocative act, shortly before Saleh's forces cracked down on the protest.
In a statement on Monday, a group of protest organisers demanded Washington recall Gerald Feierstein, whom they called an "advocate and defender of Saleh's ruthless oppression of his people, almost from the start of his assignment in Yemen."
Al Masdar Online, one of the publications which attended a briefing with Feierstein, cited him as saying, in Arabic translation: "Being peaceful isn't just about not carrying weapons. If 2,000 people decided to march on the White House, we wouldn't consider it peaceful and we wouldn't permit it."
The U.S. embassy in Sanaa did not respond to requests for comment on the remarks.
The top "counter-terrorism" official in Washington - which wages a campaign of drone strikes against alleged al Qaeda members in Yemen and assassinated Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, that way earlier this year - urged Saleh's deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Sunday to show restraint with protests.
Any successor to Saleh would face multiple, overlapping conflicts including renewed separatist sentiment in the south, which fought a civil war with Saleh's north in 1994 after four turbulent years of formal union.
Islamist fighters have seized chunks of territory in the southern Abyan province. Fighting there has forced tens of thousands of people to flee, compounding a humanitarian crisis in a country where about half a million people are displaced.
Tue Dec 27, 2011
SANAA (Reuters) - Foes and backers of a plan to ease Yemen's president out of power fought each other with stones and clubs on Tuesday, deepening the country's chaos as Washington said it was considering a request from the leader to fly to the United States.
Youth activists, who have led months of protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule, were split on him leaving the country - saying it might ease the conflict but could also let him escape justice.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh bowed to months of protests and international pressure by agreeing last month to a deal that would grant him immunity from prosecution over his violent crackdown on the uprising but see him hand over power to his deputy.
Far from resolving the crisis, the settlement has sparked further tension between groups who opposed the immunity deal, and groups who backed it - many of whom have since joined an interim government.
Activists said least 20 people were injured in the clashes in the capital Sanaa on Tuesday between supporters of the Islah party, which backed the immunity deal, and the Houthi movement, a Shi'ite rebel grouping in the north of the country.
Washington and top oil producer Saudi Arabia, which borders Yemen, both fear continued chaos would allow al Qaeda to build on its already strong presence in the country, which lies close to key oil shipping lanes.
After another bout of violence on Saturday - when protesters said Saleh's forces killed nine people who had joined a mass march against the immunity deal - the president vowed to give way to a successor and go to the United States.
A White House spokesman late on Monday said the U.S. government was trying to decide whether to allow Saleh to travel to the United States, adding that the president had requested medical treatment.
Anti-Saleh protesters said they were in two minds about the possible U.S. trip.
"We are at a loss, between our desire to see Saleh go and avoid Yemen sliding into civil war, and the desire to see him tried for his crimes," said Samia al-Aghbari, a protest leader who was detained briefly after Saturday's violence.
"If he (Saleh) is away and forbidden from being part of the political atmosphere in Yemen, it may help, I see the point of that. But he still has money and weapons in the country and if this doesn't change, nothing will change at any level in Yemen," said activist Hamza Shargabi.
OVERLAPPING CONFLICTS
Any suggestion that Saleh is taking up sanctuary in the United States would be highly controversial among activists and opposition figures who have accused Washington of backing Saleh as an ally in the campaign against al Qaeda.
"He has this relation with the U.S., its war on terror, and torturing people in the name of that war, and putting people in prison," said Shargabi. "Anything can happen in the name of the war on terror."
Hostility against the United States was fanned by Yemeni media reports that Washington's envoy in Sanaa described Saturday's march as a provocative act, shortly before Saleh's forces cracked down on the protest.
In a statement on Monday, a group of protest organisers demanded Washington recall Gerald Feierstein, whom they called an "advocate and defender of Saleh's ruthless oppression of his people, almost from the start of his assignment in Yemen."
Al Masdar Online, one of the publications which attended a briefing with Feierstein, cited him as saying, in Arabic translation: "Being peaceful isn't just about not carrying weapons. If 2,000 people decided to march on the White House, we wouldn't consider it peaceful and we wouldn't permit it."
The U.S. embassy in Sanaa did not respond to requests for comment on the remarks.
The top "counter-terrorism" official in Washington - which wages a campaign of drone strikes against alleged al Qaeda members in Yemen and assassinated Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen, that way earlier this year - urged Saleh's deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on Sunday to show restraint with protests.
Any successor to Saleh would face multiple, overlapping conflicts including renewed separatist sentiment in the south, which fought a civil war with Saleh's north in 1994 after four turbulent years of formal union.
Islamist fighters have seized chunks of territory in the southern Abyan province. Fighting there has forced tens of thousands of people to flee, compounding a humanitarian crisis in a country where about half a million people are displaced.
Source: U.S. to allow Yemeni president in for treatment
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 27, 2011
Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will be allowed to come to the United States for medical treatment in New York, a senior Obama administration official said Tuesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged a debate within the administration.
Officials do not want to come across as providing safe haven to a dictator responsible for a violent crackdown on an uprising that killed many protesters, the source said.
The decision was made in hopes that Saleh's departure from Yemen could ease tensions in the country and help pave the way toward elections next year, the official said.
Saleh was wounded in a June bomb attack on his presidential palace.
He received treatment in Saudi Arabia as protests grew against his 33-year rule.
On Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said U.S. officials were considering Saleh's request to come to America "for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment."
Saleh agreed to step down from power after months of unrest.
Yemen has been wracked with protests throughout the year, with demonstrators and rival factions demanding the president's departure and calling for elections.
In November, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Saleh had told him he would come to New York for medical treatment after signing an agreement to step down. Under the deal, brokered by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, the president agreed to transfer power into the hands of a coalition government.
While unpopular with many Yemenis, Saleh has been an ally of the United States in its war on terrorism, particularly against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
December 27, 2011
Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will be allowed to come to the United States for medical treatment in New York, a senior Obama administration official said Tuesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, acknowledged a debate within the administration.
Officials do not want to come across as providing safe haven to a dictator responsible for a violent crackdown on an uprising that killed many protesters, the source said.
The decision was made in hopes that Saleh's departure from Yemen could ease tensions in the country and help pave the way toward elections next year, the official said.
Saleh was wounded in a June bomb attack on his presidential palace.
He received treatment in Saudi Arabia as protests grew against his 33-year rule.
On Monday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said U.S. officials were considering Saleh's request to come to America "for the sole purpose of seeking medical treatment."
Saleh agreed to step down from power after months of unrest.
Yemen has been wracked with protests throughout the year, with demonstrators and rival factions demanding the president's departure and calling for elections.
In November, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that Saleh had told him he would come to New York for medical treatment after signing an agreement to step down. Under the deal, brokered by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, the president agreed to transfer power into the hands of a coalition government.
While unpopular with many Yemenis, Saleh has been an ally of the United States in its war on terrorism, particularly against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Monday, December 26, 2011
France warns Yemen of sanctions
AFP
December 27, 2011
FRANCE has criticised the Yemeni government's use of deadly force on protesters and warned it could seek sanctions.
Yemen is in the grip of an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has promised to stand down after a presidential election in February, but cuts an increasingly beleaguered figure as his country plunges into chaos.
In a statement from its foreign ministry, France said government forces had fired live rounds at a peaceful demonstration in Sanaa on Saturday "causing numerous deaths and injuries."
"France called on the vice president and prime minister to assume all their responsibilities and exert their authority on all military and police forces to bring to an end violence against protesters," it said.
France called on commanders in the security forces to put themselves under the command of Vice President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi, and expressed the hope that Mr Saleh's departure "will reduce tensions".
"France and its partners do not rule out putting particular restrictive measures in place against members of the army or police or people who, by deliberately stoking tension, seek to undermine the political process."
Mr Saleh has said he is ready to travel temporarily to the United States in order to calm the atmosphere, but Washington has said it would only issue him a visa for "legitimate medical reasons".
It comes as the ongoing battles between Al-Qaeda suspects and Yemen's army near the restive southern city of Zinjibar killed five soldiers and two Al-Qaeda suspects.
"Five soldiers were killed and seven wounded in late Sunday battles" between the army and Al-Qaeda-linked militants, a military official said.
The army fired artillery rounds on the militants' hideouts on Zinjibar's outskirts.
Medics confirmed the toll, adding that two of the extremists were also killed in the fighting.
The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the country to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in southern and eastern Yemen.
Militants linked to Al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Abyan provincial capital Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia, the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May.
December 27, 2011
FRANCE has criticised the Yemeni government's use of deadly force on protesters and warned it could seek sanctions.
Yemen is in the grip of an uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has promised to stand down after a presidential election in February, but cuts an increasingly beleaguered figure as his country plunges into chaos.
In a statement from its foreign ministry, France said government forces had fired live rounds at a peaceful demonstration in Sanaa on Saturday "causing numerous deaths and injuries."
"France called on the vice president and prime minister to assume all their responsibilities and exert their authority on all military and police forces to bring to an end violence against protesters," it said.
France called on commanders in the security forces to put themselves under the command of Vice President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi, and expressed the hope that Mr Saleh's departure "will reduce tensions".
"France and its partners do not rule out putting particular restrictive measures in place against members of the army or police or people who, by deliberately stoking tension, seek to undermine the political process."
Mr Saleh has said he is ready to travel temporarily to the United States in order to calm the atmosphere, but Washington has said it would only issue him a visa for "legitimate medical reasons".
It comes as the ongoing battles between Al-Qaeda suspects and Yemen's army near the restive southern city of Zinjibar killed five soldiers and two Al-Qaeda suspects.
"Five soldiers were killed and seven wounded in late Sunday battles" between the army and Al-Qaeda-linked militants, a military official said.
The army fired artillery rounds on the militants' hideouts on Zinjibar's outskirts.
Medics confirmed the toll, adding that two of the extremists were also killed in the fighting.
The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the country to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in southern and eastern Yemen.
Militants linked to Al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Abyan provincial capital Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia, the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May.
Yemen replacing commander after soldiers strike
By AHMED AL-HAJ
December 26, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An officer says Yemen's military has agreed to replace a commander accused of corruption, apparently settling a brief strike by 1,000 soldiers.
Anwar Abdullah, an officer in a department that deals with public affairs and army morale, said that the strikers demanded the ouster of department head Maj. Gen. Ali al-Shater for mismanagement. Abdullah said al-Shater had his own prison, and some soldiers were jailed, even for minor offenses. Some were kept in chains.
He said after the prime minister intervened in the dispute Monday, it was agreed that al-Shater would be replaced.
The soldiers said they would end their strike when the defense minister appoints a new commander.
December 26, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — An officer says Yemen's military has agreed to replace a commander accused of corruption, apparently settling a brief strike by 1,000 soldiers.
Anwar Abdullah, an officer in a department that deals with public affairs and army morale, said that the strikers demanded the ouster of department head Maj. Gen. Ali al-Shater for mismanagement. Abdullah said al-Shater had his own prison, and some soldiers were jailed, even for minor offenses. Some were kept in chains.
He said after the prime minister intervened in the dispute Monday, it was agreed that al-Shater would be replaced.
The soldiers said they would end their strike when the defense minister appoints a new commander.
Yemen Leader May Visit the United States for Medical Treatment
By MARK LANDLER
December 26, 2011
HONOLULU — The Obama administration is considering a request by the embattled president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to come to the United States for medical treatment after he relinquishes power, a senior administration official said here on Sunday evening.
The White House has not decided whether to grant the request, the official said. But he added that if Mr. Saleh were allowed to come, it would only be for “legitimate medical treatment.”
Mr. Saleh was seriously wounded last June in a bomb attack on his palace in the Yemeni capital, Sana. He agreed to give up power a month ago and an election to replace him has been set for February, but until then, he maintains his title and much of his authority. Fears that Mr. Saleh will not let go have hampered Yemen’s transition and played an underlying role in the chronic political violence gripping the country, one of the poorest in the Middle East.
On Saturday, government security forces opened fire on protestors in Sana, killing at least nine people. They were protesting a deal under which Mr. Saleh would get immunity for his role in previous clashes with demonstrators, in return for giving up his post.
The United States will not offer Mr. Saleh asylum or safe harbor if it allows him to seek treatment here, the administration official said. Anti-government activists in Yemen said they would oppose that, and demand that the United States hand him over for legal prosecution at home.
Doubts remain strong in Yemen about the real intentions of Mr. Saleh, who has clung to power for three decades.
President Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, called Yemen’s vice president, Abdo Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, on Sunday to urge the government to show restraint against protesters, said Joshua R. Earnest, the deputy press secretary.
“Mr. Brennan emphasized strongly the need for Yemeni security forces to show maximum restraint when dealing with demonstrations, and called upon all sides to refrain from provocative acts that could spur further violence,” Mr. Earnest said in a statement issued in Hawaii, where Mr. Obama is spending the Christmas holiday with his family.
Vice President Hadi, who is to assume Mr. Saleh’s powers during the transition period, told Mr. Brennan that the government would investigate the deaths and injuries, Mr. Earnest said.
The United States has found itself in a sometimes awkward position as the unrest in the Arab world has swept through Yemen. The administration conducts extensive counterterrorism operations with the Saleh government on suspected Al Qaeda cells in Yemen.
Still, the administration has supported efforts by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf neighbors to broker a peaceful transition. Mr. Brennan, who knows the Mr. Saleh well, has served as the administration’s main interlocutor with the government.
Ever since Mr. Saleh was hurt in the June bombing — suffering shrapnel wounds and extensive burns — there have been reports that he would leave Yemen for medical treatment. He was flown to a hospital in Saudi Arabia after the attack, but returned three months later.
On Saturday, Mr. Saleh told reporters at his palace that he was leaving to “get out of sight and the media, to calm the atmosphere for the unity government to hold the presidential election,” according to The Associated Press. But he did not say when he was leaving, and noted that he would eventually return, to work as an “opposition figure.”
December 26, 2011
HONOLULU — The Obama administration is considering a request by the embattled president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to come to the United States for medical treatment after he relinquishes power, a senior administration official said here on Sunday evening.
The White House has not decided whether to grant the request, the official said. But he added that if Mr. Saleh were allowed to come, it would only be for “legitimate medical treatment.”
Mr. Saleh was seriously wounded last June in a bomb attack on his palace in the Yemeni capital, Sana. He agreed to give up power a month ago and an election to replace him has been set for February, but until then, he maintains his title and much of his authority. Fears that Mr. Saleh will not let go have hampered Yemen’s transition and played an underlying role in the chronic political violence gripping the country, one of the poorest in the Middle East.
On Saturday, government security forces opened fire on protestors in Sana, killing at least nine people. They were protesting a deal under which Mr. Saleh would get immunity for his role in previous clashes with demonstrators, in return for giving up his post.
The United States will not offer Mr. Saleh asylum or safe harbor if it allows him to seek treatment here, the administration official said. Anti-government activists in Yemen said they would oppose that, and demand that the United States hand him over for legal prosecution at home.
Doubts remain strong in Yemen about the real intentions of Mr. Saleh, who has clung to power for three decades.
President Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, John O. Brennan, called Yemen’s vice president, Abdo Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi, on Sunday to urge the government to show restraint against protesters, said Joshua R. Earnest, the deputy press secretary.
“Mr. Brennan emphasized strongly the need for Yemeni security forces to show maximum restraint when dealing with demonstrations, and called upon all sides to refrain from provocative acts that could spur further violence,” Mr. Earnest said in a statement issued in Hawaii, where Mr. Obama is spending the Christmas holiday with his family.
Vice President Hadi, who is to assume Mr. Saleh’s powers during the transition period, told Mr. Brennan that the government would investigate the deaths and injuries, Mr. Earnest said.
The United States has found itself in a sometimes awkward position as the unrest in the Arab world has swept through Yemen. The administration conducts extensive counterterrorism operations with the Saleh government on suspected Al Qaeda cells in Yemen.
Still, the administration has supported efforts by Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf neighbors to broker a peaceful transition. Mr. Brennan, who knows the Mr. Saleh well, has served as the administration’s main interlocutor with the government.
Ever since Mr. Saleh was hurt in the June bombing — suffering shrapnel wounds and extensive burns — there have been reports that he would leave Yemen for medical treatment. He was flown to a hospital in Saudi Arabia after the attack, but returned three months later.
On Saturday, Mr. Saleh told reporters at his palace that he was leaving to “get out of sight and the media, to calm the atmosphere for the unity government to hold the presidential election,” according to The Associated Press. But he did not say when he was leaving, and noted that he would eventually return, to work as an “opposition figure.”
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Yemeni MPs denounce US Ambassador' statement against “March of Life”
25/12/2011
News Yemen
Members of the Yemeni Parliament in the city of Taiz, southern Yemen, criticized U.S. ambassador to Yemen over labeling a foot march from Taiz to Sana'a, almost 280km, as “non-peaceful.”
The independent MPs said in a press conference on Sunday that the U.S. ambassador Gerlad Feierstein's remarks on the march of life gave green light to the regime to kill the participants in the march in Sana'a.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 200 others wounded.
The MPs, who resigned from the General People's Congress (GPC) party and joined the peaceful youth and popular revolution last March, called the U.S. ambassador to apologize “for the people of Taiz in particular, and the people of Yemen in general.”
They also demanded material and moral compensation for families of victims and for those who are suffering injuries, disabilities and psychological and moral damage.
“Members of the Parliament strongly condemn the US ambassador's irresponsible statements, which was one of the main reasons that encouraged the regime to attack the peaceful march.”
The MPs added that the regime carried out the massacre “because it was sure that it would not be held accountable as the statement by the US ambassador was considered a green light.”
The MPs condemned the attack on the march and said that they would boycott the sessions of the Parliament and that they will never give immunity for killers.
A source in the US embassy in Sana'a told al-Masdar Online that the embassy talked to senior Yemeni officials one day before the arrival of the “March of Life” to Sana'a and urged retraint.
The source said that the embassy also asked Yemeni officials to meet the marchers and allow them to march to the Change Square.
This comes one day after the US ambassador told reporters in Sana'a that the “March of Life” is not peaceful and aims to cause chaos and provoke the security forces, according to reports by al-Masdar Online and al-Ula independent daily which attended the press conference.
News Yemen
Members of the Yemeni Parliament in the city of Taiz, southern Yemen, criticized U.S. ambassador to Yemen over labeling a foot march from Taiz to Sana'a, almost 280km, as “non-peaceful.”
The independent MPs said in a press conference on Sunday that the U.S. ambassador Gerlad Feierstein's remarks on the march of life gave green light to the regime to kill the participants in the march in Sana'a.
At least 13 people were killed and more than 200 others wounded.
The MPs, who resigned from the General People's Congress (GPC) party and joined the peaceful youth and popular revolution last March, called the U.S. ambassador to apologize “for the people of Taiz in particular, and the people of Yemen in general.”
They also demanded material and moral compensation for families of victims and for those who are suffering injuries, disabilities and psychological and moral damage.
“Members of the Parliament strongly condemn the US ambassador's irresponsible statements, which was one of the main reasons that encouraged the regime to attack the peaceful march.”
The MPs added that the regime carried out the massacre “because it was sure that it would not be held accountable as the statement by the US ambassador was considered a green light.”
The MPs condemned the attack on the march and said that they would boycott the sessions of the Parliament and that they will never give immunity for killers.
A source in the US embassy in Sana'a told al-Masdar Online that the embassy talked to senior Yemeni officials one day before the arrival of the “March of Life” to Sana'a and urged retraint.
The source said that the embassy also asked Yemeni officials to meet the marchers and allow them to march to the Change Square.
This comes one day after the US ambassador told reporters in Sana'a that the “March of Life” is not peaceful and aims to cause chaos and provoke the security forces, according to reports by al-Masdar Online and al-Ula independent daily which attended the press conference.
Intelligence chief shot dead in south Yemen: police
(AFP) December 25, 2011
ADEN — Gunmen shot dead an intelligence chief on Sunday in the port of Aden in south Yemen, a police official said, blaming the attack on Al-Qaeda.
The assailants intercepted the vehicle carrying Colonel Hussein Shabibi, head of internal security in the city's Sheikh Othman district, and shot him dead before making good their escape in a car, the official said.
Shabibi was the latest security officer to be targeted in recent months in south Yemen in attacks generally attributed by officials to Al-Qaeda.
The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the capital Sanaa to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in south and east Yemen.
Militants linked to Al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Abyan provincial capital Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia, the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May.
ADEN — Gunmen shot dead an intelligence chief on Sunday in the port of Aden in south Yemen, a police official said, blaming the attack on Al-Qaeda.
The assailants intercepted the vehicle carrying Colonel Hussein Shabibi, head of internal security in the city's Sheikh Othman district, and shot him dead before making good their escape in a car, the official said.
Shabibi was the latest security officer to be targeted in recent months in south Yemen in attacks generally attributed by officials to Al-Qaeda.
The Islamist extremist network has turned 11 months of political turmoil in the capital Sanaa to its advantage, using the popular revolt against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to bolster its presence in south and east Yemen.
Militants linked to Al-Qaeda control several regions and towns including Abyan provincial capital Zinjibar, where they clash regularly with government forces and tribal auxiliaries.
Government forces are also sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia, the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May.
US ambassadors to Yemen announcements provoke controversy
Mohammed al-Kibsi
Dec 25, 2011
Yemen’s revolutionary council and peace Laurent Tawakul Karman condemned the announcements of the US ambassador Gerald Feierstein that said the Life March from Taiz to Sana’a was not peaceful.
The revolutionary council demanded that ambassador Feierstein most apologize while Tawkul Karman in her face book described the announcement as brutal. “How did he know that the march would turn violent,” she wondered. Some other youth affiliated to Houthi even demanded the US ambassador to leave Yemen.
Feierstein had said in a press conference held at the embassy on Saturday that the march of life that was approaching Sana'a aimed to erupt chaos and violence. “It seems to have the intention not to carry out a peaceful march, but to get access to Sana'a in order to generate chaos and provoke a violent response by the security forces”, US ambassador said.
“Peace is not only not to take up arms, for example , if 2000 people decided to protest to the White House in US, we do not consider it a peaceful act and will not allow this,” US ambassador added.
These announcements provoked controversy and anger among the youth and opposition activists that organized the march.
According to opposition sources over 9 demonstrators were killed when some of the demonstrators changed their route and tried to head to the Presidential complex.
They clashed with the security barriers set ups to prevent them from reaching to the presidential complex in al-Sabein area in the south of Sana’a.
The protesters affiliated to the JMP accused the so called Shabab al-Somoud affiliated to Houthi of derailing the march and of erupting chaos and violence.
Thousands of protesters who marched from Taiz south of Yemen entered Yemen's capital Saturday after a 5-day march passing three Yemeni provinces.
Prior to the march the General People Congress Party (GPC) that is the ruling party called on the sponsors of the GCC peace deal to pressure on the Joint Meeting Opposition Parties JMP to respect the deal and stop provocations accusing them of sponsoring the march of life to temper the peace deal.
President Saleh in his press conference held on Saturday few hours before the incidents accused Hamid al-Ahmar of financing the life march.
He also accused him of being in charge of the June 3 assassination attempt that targeted him and other high rank Yemeni officials that resulted in killing dozens including the speaker of Yemen Senate late Abdul-Aziz Abdul Ghani and wounding man others including the president himself, the former prime minister and the speaker of the parliament.
Saleh called on the opposition parties and all other parties to commit to the GCC deal as a whole matrix but not to be selective.
The president also said that he would leave Yemen to the United States not only for medical treatment as was announced by some UN officials but also for some political affairs.
He said he would leave and stay abroad so as to give chance for the interim government to organize the early presidential elections. However he said he would come back to Yemen to lead his ruling party GPC when in the opposition.
The violence underlined the continuing turmoil in Yemen even after Saleh signed a GCC brokered deal that was backed by UNSC resolution last month by which he handed his powers to his vice president and committed to step down completely within 90 days.
Dec 25, 2011
Yemen’s revolutionary council and peace Laurent Tawakul Karman condemned the announcements of the US ambassador Gerald Feierstein that said the Life March from Taiz to Sana’a was not peaceful.
The revolutionary council demanded that ambassador Feierstein most apologize while Tawkul Karman in her face book described the announcement as brutal. “How did he know that the march would turn violent,” she wondered. Some other youth affiliated to Houthi even demanded the US ambassador to leave Yemen.
Feierstein had said in a press conference held at the embassy on Saturday that the march of life that was approaching Sana'a aimed to erupt chaos and violence. “It seems to have the intention not to carry out a peaceful march, but to get access to Sana'a in order to generate chaos and provoke a violent response by the security forces”, US ambassador said.
“Peace is not only not to take up arms, for example , if 2000 people decided to protest to the White House in US, we do not consider it a peaceful act and will not allow this,” US ambassador added.
These announcements provoked controversy and anger among the youth and opposition activists that organized the march.
According to opposition sources over 9 demonstrators were killed when some of the demonstrators changed their route and tried to head to the Presidential complex.
They clashed with the security barriers set ups to prevent them from reaching to the presidential complex in al-Sabein area in the south of Sana’a.
The protesters affiliated to the JMP accused the so called Shabab al-Somoud affiliated to Houthi of derailing the march and of erupting chaos and violence.
Thousands of protesters who marched from Taiz south of Yemen entered Yemen's capital Saturday after a 5-day march passing three Yemeni provinces.
Prior to the march the General People Congress Party (GPC) that is the ruling party called on the sponsors of the GCC peace deal to pressure on the Joint Meeting Opposition Parties JMP to respect the deal and stop provocations accusing them of sponsoring the march of life to temper the peace deal.
President Saleh in his press conference held on Saturday few hours before the incidents accused Hamid al-Ahmar of financing the life march.
He also accused him of being in charge of the June 3 assassination attempt that targeted him and other high rank Yemeni officials that resulted in killing dozens including the speaker of Yemen Senate late Abdul-Aziz Abdul Ghani and wounding man others including the president himself, the former prime minister and the speaker of the parliament.
Saleh called on the opposition parties and all other parties to commit to the GCC deal as a whole matrix but not to be selective.
The president also said that he would leave Yemen to the United States not only for medical treatment as was announced by some UN officials but also for some political affairs.
He said he would leave and stay abroad so as to give chance for the interim government to organize the early presidential elections. However he said he would come back to Yemen to lead his ruling party GPC when in the opposition.
The violence underlined the continuing turmoil in Yemen even after Saleh signed a GCC brokered deal that was backed by UNSC resolution last month by which he handed his powers to his vice president and committed to step down completely within 90 days.
Yemen leader urges truce after troops kill protesters
Mohammed Ghobari, Reuters December 25, 2011
SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's acting leader on Sunday urged foes and loyalists of President Ali Abdullah to call a truce, after Saleh's forces killed nine people demanding he be tried for the deaths of demonstrators over nearly a year of protests against him. Troops from what witnesses identified as key loyalist units opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters approaching Saleh's compound in the capital on Saturday after a days-long march from the city of Taiz, chanting "No to immunity!."
They referred to a pledge to spare Saleh prosecution in exchange for giving his powers to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and letting a government including opposition parties lead Yemen to a February election to replace Saleh after 33 years.
That government is to separate Saleh's forces from rebel army units and tribal militias they have fought in Sanaa, a key to the power transfer deal Yemen's wealthier neighbours brokered to avert a civil war they fear will affect them.
The state news agency on Sunday quoted Hadi as saying during a meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Sanaa, Gerald Feierstein, that all sides "must commit ... to a truce and respect its rules forbidding escalation" that would threaten the transition deal.
Hadi was echoing a note struck by the U.S. side just before the killings, when Feierstein was quoted by a Yemeni news outlet as telling a group of Yemeni journalists that the protest - which set out days earlier from Taiz 200 km (125 miles) to the south - was a provocative act.
Feierstein and other embassy officials did not respond to calls on Saturday and Sunday seeking comment on the remarks.
Washington long backed Saleh as a cornerstone of its "counter-terrorism" policy in Yemen, which includes the use of drones to kill alleged al Qaeda members. A CIA drone strike killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, earlier this year.
MILITARY DENIES IT KILLED PROTESTERS
Hours after the killings, Saleh said he would leave for the United States and give way to the new government and the vote to pick his successor. But he gave no timetable for leaving and vowed to return, this time in opposition to the government.
"An unstable Yemen means an unstable region. So, protect the security, unity and stability of Yemen, neighbour states," he told reporters. "Its security is yours."
A defence ministry website, September 26, on Sunday cited an unidentified official denying the military - key units of which are led by Saleh's son and nephew - played any role in the killing of the protesters in Sanaa.
It pinned the blame on the interior ministry - now led by an opposition figure - calling witness and news accounts of pro-Saleh troops shooting protesters "baseless, mendacious claims that are part of a vicious media campaign ... against the defence establishment."
The interim government, led by a former foreign minister who joined the opposition against Saleh, late on Saturday called for an investigation of the killings.
The youth-led protesters who have taken to the streets against Saleh bitterly condemn the opposition parties - some of which once took part in Saleh's governments - for agreeing to grant him immunity, and demand that he and his inner circle be tried and banned from power.
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, called on governments to ignore the immunity pledge and freeze Saleh's assets abroad, saying: "Promises of immunity encourage rather than deter illegal attacks."
Any post-Saleh government would face overlapping regional conflicts that have displaced nearly half a million people, and political paralysis has seen attacks on infrastructure hamper the modest oil exports that fund imports of staple foods.
Fighting with Islamist who have seized chunks of territory in a southern province, Abyan, has sent tens of thousands of its residents to flight, compounding Yemen's humanitarian crisis.
Separatist sentiment is also surging in the south, formerly a socialist republic that fought a civil war with Saleh's north in 1994 after four turbulent years of formal union.
SANAA (Reuters) - Yemen's acting leader on Sunday urged foes and loyalists of President Ali Abdullah to call a truce, after Saleh's forces killed nine people demanding he be tried for the deaths of demonstrators over nearly a year of protests against him. Troops from what witnesses identified as key loyalist units opened fire on tens of thousands of protesters approaching Saleh's compound in the capital on Saturday after a days-long march from the city of Taiz, chanting "No to immunity!."
They referred to a pledge to spare Saleh prosecution in exchange for giving his powers to his deputy, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and letting a government including opposition parties lead Yemen to a February election to replace Saleh after 33 years.
That government is to separate Saleh's forces from rebel army units and tribal militias they have fought in Sanaa, a key to the power transfer deal Yemen's wealthier neighbours brokered to avert a civil war they fear will affect them.
The state news agency on Sunday quoted Hadi as saying during a meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Sanaa, Gerald Feierstein, that all sides "must commit ... to a truce and respect its rules forbidding escalation" that would threaten the transition deal.
Hadi was echoing a note struck by the U.S. side just before the killings, when Feierstein was quoted by a Yemeni news outlet as telling a group of Yemeni journalists that the protest - which set out days earlier from Taiz 200 km (125 miles) to the south - was a provocative act.
Feierstein and other embassy officials did not respond to calls on Saturday and Sunday seeking comment on the remarks.
Washington long backed Saleh as a cornerstone of its "counter-terrorism" policy in Yemen, which includes the use of drones to kill alleged al Qaeda members. A CIA drone strike killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, earlier this year.
MILITARY DENIES IT KILLED PROTESTERS
Hours after the killings, Saleh said he would leave for the United States and give way to the new government and the vote to pick his successor. But he gave no timetable for leaving and vowed to return, this time in opposition to the government.
"An unstable Yemen means an unstable region. So, protect the security, unity and stability of Yemen, neighbour states," he told reporters. "Its security is yours."
A defence ministry website, September 26, on Sunday cited an unidentified official denying the military - key units of which are led by Saleh's son and nephew - played any role in the killing of the protesters in Sanaa.
It pinned the blame on the interior ministry - now led by an opposition figure - calling witness and news accounts of pro-Saleh troops shooting protesters "baseless, mendacious claims that are part of a vicious media campaign ... against the defence establishment."
The interim government, led by a former foreign minister who joined the opposition against Saleh, late on Saturday called for an investigation of the killings.
The youth-led protesters who have taken to the streets against Saleh bitterly condemn the opposition parties - some of which once took part in Saleh's governments - for agreeing to grant him immunity, and demand that he and his inner circle be tried and banned from power.
Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch, called on governments to ignore the immunity pledge and freeze Saleh's assets abroad, saying: "Promises of immunity encourage rather than deter illegal attacks."
Any post-Saleh government would face overlapping regional conflicts that have displaced nearly half a million people, and political paralysis has seen attacks on infrastructure hamper the modest oil exports that fund imports of staple foods.
Fighting with Islamist who have seized chunks of territory in a southern province, Abyan, has sent tens of thousands of its residents to flight, compounding Yemen's humanitarian crisis.
Separatist sentiment is also surging in the south, formerly a socialist republic that fought a civil war with Saleh's north in 1994 after four turbulent years of formal union.
Yemenis rally for Saleh trial despite shootings
By Jamal al-Jabiri (AFP) – December 25, 2011
SANAA — Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Yemen's capital Sunday calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to face trial, a day after his forces and loyalists killed 13 people at a similar demonstration.
"The people want to bring the slaughterer to trial," shouted the protesters who marched from Change Square, epicentre of the uprising that began nearly a year ago, towards Sittin Avenue in the northern district of Sanaa.
"We won't rest until the slaughterer is executed," they chanted. "We don't want Abdrabuh, Ali Saleh controls him," they chanted, referring to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.
Saleh is still honorary president but handed authority over to Hadi last month when he signed a Gulf-brokered deal in which he won immunity from prosecution in exchange for ending his 33-year rule when polls are held in February.
Angry youths have staged defiant protests against the plan, which is backed by the United Nations, despite a bloody backlash by Saleh's forces and loyalists that has seen hundreds of them killed.
But Saleh's General People's Congress party insisted on Sunday that the parliament would confirm the immunity deal.
"Measures will be taken to issue the immunity law as per the Gulf plan" after a parliamentary vote of confidence on the newly formed unity government expected this week, Sultan al-Barakani, who represents the GPC's bloc in parliament, told AFP.
The veteran leader said Saturday that he would soon visit the United States ahead of transferring power following a February 21 presidential election.
A diplomat from one of the countries that has sponsored the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Saleh has presented "a list of 412 people" he wants the immunity deal to include.
The list includes his relatives, aides, and officials who had worked with him during his rule, the source said, adding that Saleh was given a US visa "two weeks ago."
But Sunday's protesters reject any such agreements.
"No guarantee, no immunity to Saleh and to those close to him," they shouted.
The protesters, backed by tens of thousands who were met by gunfire from Saleh's forces and loyalists after they arrived on foot Saturday from the second-largest city Taez, called on Hadi to hand over those responsible for the violence to justice.
"Take up your responsibility and hand the killers of the youths over to justice, or resign," said one of the organisers on a loudspeaker as the demonstrators gathered outside Hadi's residence on Sittin Avenue.
Thirteen people were killed on Saturday when security forces and gunmen loyal to Saleh attacked their march in which they were calling for him to be put on trial.
"Thirteen people were killed and 50 others were wounded by live rounds," a medical official said Sunday, updating an earlier toll of nine dead.
The medic from a field hospital in the capital said that 150 other people suffered from breathing difficulties due to tear gas inhalation.
Another medic who confirmed the toll said three of the wounded had succumbed to their injuries while a fourth was shot dead in another protest later on Saturday.
The objective of the five-day-long "March for Life" that turned deadly on Saturday was to press for Saleh and his top allies to face criminal charges for their roles in the violence committed against anti-regime protesters.
Despite being met by live rounds, water cannon and tear gas upon their arrival in Sanaa's south, the crowds who set off from Taez on Tuesday for the 270-kilometre (167-mile) march to Sanaa poured into the capital where they spent the night in Change Square.
SANAA — Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Yemen's capital Sunday calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to face trial, a day after his forces and loyalists killed 13 people at a similar demonstration.
"The people want to bring the slaughterer to trial," shouted the protesters who marched from Change Square, epicentre of the uprising that began nearly a year ago, towards Sittin Avenue in the northern district of Sanaa.
"We won't rest until the slaughterer is executed," they chanted. "We don't want Abdrabuh, Ali Saleh controls him," they chanted, referring to Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi.
Saleh is still honorary president but handed authority over to Hadi last month when he signed a Gulf-brokered deal in which he won immunity from prosecution in exchange for ending his 33-year rule when polls are held in February.
Angry youths have staged defiant protests against the plan, which is backed by the United Nations, despite a bloody backlash by Saleh's forces and loyalists that has seen hundreds of them killed.
But Saleh's General People's Congress party insisted on Sunday that the parliament would confirm the immunity deal.
"Measures will be taken to issue the immunity law as per the Gulf plan" after a parliamentary vote of confidence on the newly formed unity government expected this week, Sultan al-Barakani, who represents the GPC's bloc in parliament, told AFP.
The veteran leader said Saturday that he would soon visit the United States ahead of transferring power following a February 21 presidential election.
A diplomat from one of the countries that has sponsored the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Saleh has presented "a list of 412 people" he wants the immunity deal to include.
The list includes his relatives, aides, and officials who had worked with him during his rule, the source said, adding that Saleh was given a US visa "two weeks ago."
But Sunday's protesters reject any such agreements.
"No guarantee, no immunity to Saleh and to those close to him," they shouted.
The protesters, backed by tens of thousands who were met by gunfire from Saleh's forces and loyalists after they arrived on foot Saturday from the second-largest city Taez, called on Hadi to hand over those responsible for the violence to justice.
"Take up your responsibility and hand the killers of the youths over to justice, or resign," said one of the organisers on a loudspeaker as the demonstrators gathered outside Hadi's residence on Sittin Avenue.
Thirteen people were killed on Saturday when security forces and gunmen loyal to Saleh attacked their march in which they were calling for him to be put on trial.
"Thirteen people were killed and 50 others were wounded by live rounds," a medical official said Sunday, updating an earlier toll of nine dead.
The medic from a field hospital in the capital said that 150 other people suffered from breathing difficulties due to tear gas inhalation.
Another medic who confirmed the toll said three of the wounded had succumbed to their injuries while a fourth was shot dead in another protest later on Saturday.
The objective of the five-day-long "March for Life" that turned deadly on Saturday was to press for Saleh and his top allies to face criminal charges for their roles in the violence committed against anti-regime protesters.
Despite being met by live rounds, water cannon and tear gas upon their arrival in Sanaa's south, the crowds who set off from Taez on Tuesday for the 270-kilometre (167-mile) march to Sanaa poured into the capital where they spent the night in Change Square.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Troops hit protesters marching into Yemen capital
By AHMED AL-HAJ, Associated Press –
December 24, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — More than 100,000 protesters who entered Yemen's capital Saturday after a 4-day march from another city were attacked by elite troops loyal to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who opened fire with guns, water cannons and tear gas. Medical officials said at least three protesters were killed, including a woman.
The crowd of protesters had marched from Taiz, a city that has been a major opposition center 170 miles (270 kilometers) to the south. The first of its kind protest, called the March of Life, aimed to put pressure on the country's new government not to grant Saleh immunity from prosecution.
The violence underlined the continuing turmoil in Yemen even after Saleh signed a U.S.- and Saudi-backed deal last month by which he handed his powers to his vice president and committed to step down completely in return for immunity.
Protesters who rallied by the thousands for the past 10 months rejected the deal, demanding Saleh be tried for his bloody crackdown on their movement.
At the same time, Saleh has seemed to continue to exercise influence through his relatives and loyalists still in their positions, even after Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi formed a unity government between the opposition and ruling party. Forces loyal to Saleh have defied orders to withdrew from the streets of Sanaa after a deadline was reached Saturday to do so.
The marchers Saturday were trying to pass down a main avenue on which the presidential palace is located when it was met at Sanaa's southern entrance by a force from the Republican Guard, which is commanded by Saleh's son, and Central Security forces, led by Saleh's nephew, backed by tanks.
Troops fired to disperse the crowd, who responded by throwing stones.
A medic at the scene, Mohammed el-Qoutbi, says three protesters including a woman were killed, and more than 30 people were injured by gunshots and tear gas.
As clashes went on, thousands of protesters camping in Sanaa's Change Square, which is the epicenter of Yemen's protest movement, marched to the scene to join in. The protesters were cordoned by security forces before reaching the site of clashes. Witnesses said they saw tanks and artillery units from military camps around the capital also heading to the site.
In the evening, Hadi, who heads a Military Committee in charge of preserving security and ending military presence in the streets, ordered the Republican Guard and other security forces to open the way for the protesters to continue marching. The forces eventually did let the protesters continue their march after international ambassadors working with Hadi also intervened, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the behind-the-scenes efforts.
The march came as Yemen's parliament convened Saturday for the first time since opposition and independent lawmakers suspended their participation in March to protest the crackdown against protesters.
Lawmakers were to discuss the program of the new national unity government, headed by veteran independent politician Mohammed Basindwa.
On Dec. 7, Basindwa said the government will focus on providing public services to the people, including electricity, water, fuel and basic commodities together with restoring security and stability.
Services and security have been in short supply during the unrest in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world.
However, the presence in the country of Saleh, his sons, family members and loyalists who still hold key positions could pose a challenge to the new administration.
December 24, 2011
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — More than 100,000 protesters who entered Yemen's capital Saturday after a 4-day march from another city were attacked by elite troops loyal to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who opened fire with guns, water cannons and tear gas. Medical officials said at least three protesters were killed, including a woman.
The crowd of protesters had marched from Taiz, a city that has been a major opposition center 170 miles (270 kilometers) to the south. The first of its kind protest, called the March of Life, aimed to put pressure on the country's new government not to grant Saleh immunity from prosecution.
The violence underlined the continuing turmoil in Yemen even after Saleh signed a U.S.- and Saudi-backed deal last month by which he handed his powers to his vice president and committed to step down completely in return for immunity.
Protesters who rallied by the thousands for the past 10 months rejected the deal, demanding Saleh be tried for his bloody crackdown on their movement.
At the same time, Saleh has seemed to continue to exercise influence through his relatives and loyalists still in their positions, even after Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi formed a unity government between the opposition and ruling party. Forces loyal to Saleh have defied orders to withdrew from the streets of Sanaa after a deadline was reached Saturday to do so.
The marchers Saturday were trying to pass down a main avenue on which the presidential palace is located when it was met at Sanaa's southern entrance by a force from the Republican Guard, which is commanded by Saleh's son, and Central Security forces, led by Saleh's nephew, backed by tanks.
Troops fired to disperse the crowd, who responded by throwing stones.
A medic at the scene, Mohammed el-Qoutbi, says three protesters including a woman were killed, and more than 30 people were injured by gunshots and tear gas.
As clashes went on, thousands of protesters camping in Sanaa's Change Square, which is the epicenter of Yemen's protest movement, marched to the scene to join in. The protesters were cordoned by security forces before reaching the site of clashes. Witnesses said they saw tanks and artillery units from military camps around the capital also heading to the site.
In the evening, Hadi, who heads a Military Committee in charge of preserving security and ending military presence in the streets, ordered the Republican Guard and other security forces to open the way for the protesters to continue marching. The forces eventually did let the protesters continue their march after international ambassadors working with Hadi also intervened, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the behind-the-scenes efforts.
The march came as Yemen's parliament convened Saturday for the first time since opposition and independent lawmakers suspended their participation in March to protest the crackdown against protesters.
Lawmakers were to discuss the program of the new national unity government, headed by veteran independent politician Mohammed Basindwa.
On Dec. 7, Basindwa said the government will focus on providing public services to the people, including electricity, water, fuel and basic commodities together with restoring security and stability.
Services and security have been in short supply during the unrest in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world.
However, the presence in the country of Saleh, his sons, family members and loyalists who still hold key positions could pose a challenge to the new administration.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Yemen: Thousands gather to demand Saleh trial
Sanaa, 23 Dec. (AKI) - Thousands of Yemeni anti-government protesters gathered following Friday prayers in support of marchers who are demanding that president Ali Abdullah Saleh stand trial.
Around 3,000 others continued a march from the Yemen's south in the direction of capital Sanaa demanding that outgoing president Saleh face trial for killing anti-government protesters. The march is expected to conclude Saturday.
"The world should see us walking a distance of 255 kilometres to continue the uprising which would bring us justice, freedom and the decent life which the regime deprived us from for decades," said Natheer al-Asbahi, one of the marchers, in a report by the dpa new agency.
The objective of the protest is to strip Saleh of the immunity he was granted in a recent agreement linked his resignation and the transfer of power.
Around 3,000 others continued a march from the Yemen's south in the direction of capital Sanaa demanding that outgoing president Saleh face trial for killing anti-government protesters. The march is expected to conclude Saturday.
"The world should see us walking a distance of 255 kilometres to continue the uprising which would bring us justice, freedom and the decent life which the regime deprived us from for decades," said Natheer al-Asbahi, one of the marchers, in a report by the dpa new agency.
The objective of the protest is to strip Saleh of the immunity he was granted in a recent agreement linked his resignation and the transfer of power.
Yemen demo attacked, 7 soldiers killed in an ambush
(AFP)
23 December 2011
SANAA - Loyalists of Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday attacked demonstrators gathered south of the capital calling for the leader’s trial, a protest organiser told AFP.
Further south, in Abyan province, seven soldiers were killed late Thursday near Zinjibar in an ambush by Al-Qaeda suspects, a military source said, adding three militants were also killed in subsequent fighting.
Assailants, some of whom were armed, attacked a group of 2,000 demonstrators in Hizyaz, a suburb south of Sanaa, before they could join a rally headed to the capital, said Mondher al-Asbahi.
“Dozens of demonstrators were wounded, struck by stones, and one was hit by a bullet,” said Asbahi, a member of a Taez youth group organising the rally.
The “March for Life” procession, which kicked off in the southwestern city of Taez, has amassed tens of thousands of participants along the 270-kilometre (167 mile) road to Sanaa.
The demonstration is likely to reach the capital on Saturday, Asbahi said.
Tribesmen are escorting them to ensure the security of the march, which was the target of an armed attack in the province of Dhamar, a tribal chief told AFP.
He added that Saleh’s partisans began to gather 30 kilometres south of Sanaa in bid to “block the march.”
A security services source told AFP that their were plans for military reinforcements as the march enters Sanaa to “guarantee the safety of its participants and prevent the entry of any armed participant.”
Those marching hope to pressure the new unity government to put Saleh and his chronies on trial over his government’s crackdown on opposition demonstrations, which has left hundreds dead since January.
Several demonstrations have called for Saleh to be tried for murder, nepotism and corruption, since he signed a Gulf-brokered deal which calls on him to step down in February in exchange for immunity.
Elsewhere, 10 people were killed in a sixth night of clashes pitting militants linked to Al-Qaeda against Yemeni troops trying to retake Zinjibar, Abyan’s provincial capital.
“A military vehicle was ambushed by members of Al-Qaeda east of Zinjibar and seven soldiers died,” a military source said.
“Three extremists were killed” in a subsequent gunfight,” the source added.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni air force carried out four raids in the southern city of Jaar, also in Abyan province, he said, without being able to say specify the number of casualties.
Government forces have been backed by tribal fighters and sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia, an insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May.
Al-Qaeda has profited from the instability caused by 11 months of protests against Saleh, strengthening its positions across the south of the country.
23 December 2011
SANAA - Loyalists of Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday attacked demonstrators gathered south of the capital calling for the leader’s trial, a protest organiser told AFP.
Further south, in Abyan province, seven soldiers were killed late Thursday near Zinjibar in an ambush by Al-Qaeda suspects, a military source said, adding three militants were also killed in subsequent fighting.
Assailants, some of whom were armed, attacked a group of 2,000 demonstrators in Hizyaz, a suburb south of Sanaa, before they could join a rally headed to the capital, said Mondher al-Asbahi.
“Dozens of demonstrators were wounded, struck by stones, and one was hit by a bullet,” said Asbahi, a member of a Taez youth group organising the rally.
The “March for Life” procession, which kicked off in the southwestern city of Taez, has amassed tens of thousands of participants along the 270-kilometre (167 mile) road to Sanaa.
The demonstration is likely to reach the capital on Saturday, Asbahi said.
Tribesmen are escorting them to ensure the security of the march, which was the target of an armed attack in the province of Dhamar, a tribal chief told AFP.
He added that Saleh’s partisans began to gather 30 kilometres south of Sanaa in bid to “block the march.”
A security services source told AFP that their were plans for military reinforcements as the march enters Sanaa to “guarantee the safety of its participants and prevent the entry of any armed participant.”
Those marching hope to pressure the new unity government to put Saleh and his chronies on trial over his government’s crackdown on opposition demonstrations, which has left hundreds dead since January.
Several demonstrations have called for Saleh to be tried for murder, nepotism and corruption, since he signed a Gulf-brokered deal which calls on him to step down in February in exchange for immunity.
Elsewhere, 10 people were killed in a sixth night of clashes pitting militants linked to Al-Qaeda against Yemeni troops trying to retake Zinjibar, Abyan’s provincial capital.
“A military vehicle was ambushed by members of Al-Qaeda east of Zinjibar and seven soldiers died,” a military source said.
“Three extremists were killed” in a subsequent gunfight,” the source added.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni air force carried out four raids in the southern city of Jaar, also in Abyan province, he said, without being able to say specify the number of casualties.
Government forces have been backed by tribal fighters and sometimes supported by US drone strikes in their battle against the Partisans of Sharia, an insurgent group that took over most of Zinjibar in May.
Al-Qaeda has profited from the instability caused by 11 months of protests against Saleh, strengthening its positions across the south of the country.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Yemen faces critical period to cement political settlement: UN envoy
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 22 (APP): The next few weeks will be critical as Yemen seeks to address its political, security and humanitarian challenges, a UN envoy has stressed, adding that the support of the international community will be vital to the transition process.“Now is not the time for complacency,” Jamal Benomar, the Secretary General’s Special Adviser for Yemen, told reporters in New York after briefing the Security Council behind closed doors on Wednesday. Warring factions in Yemen signed an agreement last month on a transitional settlement under which President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to hand over power to Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour al-Hadi. A new Government of National Unity was sworn in and presidential elections have been scheduled for 21 February.
“The situation in Yemen remains highly fragile, and the political agreement will be impossible to implement without the continuous commitment and cooperation of political and other leaders throughout the country,” said Benomar,who just returned from his seventh visit there.
“I remain hopeful, despite the many challenges that lie ahead, that the agreement provides for new, inclusive institutions and processes, and opens the way for reform that can meet expectations of those calling for change,” he stated.
He said the next 60 days, leading up to the polls, will be fraught with challenges and “ups and downs” and now is the time for the international community to scale up its support to Yemen’s recovery.
The UN, for its part, has deployed electoral experts to assist during this critical period. Overall, he reported that the process is moving forward and the agreement is being implemented. The Government has already taken action to restore peace and stability, including the removal of barricades and checkpoints and the withdrawal of armed groups from public and private facilities.
“Serious commitment from all sides will be required to make these inroads to stability a success,” said Benomar, who noted that the UN will continue its close engagement and monitor progress.
“We want to see a Yemen where the streets belong to the people, not to the militia. We want to see Yemenis able to go about their daily lives and grow their communities, where civic leaders are the ones shaping the future of the country, not those with arms,” he stated.
He added that the Security Council is following the situation in Yemen closely.“Indeed, the world is watching the peace process in Yemen and there will be consequences for those who think they may derail the peace process.” He stressed that the continuous engagement of all actors will be critical and
long-term stability will depend on the success of a genuinely participatory process.
“The international community has pressed hard for the sides to reach a political settlement and these calls have been heeded. Now donors have to back up their calls for reform by providing the support that is needed to implement the agreement and see the country through this transition period.”
“The situation in Yemen remains highly fragile, and the political agreement will be impossible to implement without the continuous commitment and cooperation of political and other leaders throughout the country,” said Benomar,who just returned from his seventh visit there.
“I remain hopeful, despite the many challenges that lie ahead, that the agreement provides for new, inclusive institutions and processes, and opens the way for reform that can meet expectations of those calling for change,” he stated.
He said the next 60 days, leading up to the polls, will be fraught with challenges and “ups and downs” and now is the time for the international community to scale up its support to Yemen’s recovery.
The UN, for its part, has deployed electoral experts to assist during this critical period. Overall, he reported that the process is moving forward and the agreement is being implemented. The Government has already taken action to restore peace and stability, including the removal of barricades and checkpoints and the withdrawal of armed groups from public and private facilities.
“Serious commitment from all sides will be required to make these inroads to stability a success,” said Benomar, who noted that the UN will continue its close engagement and monitor progress.
“We want to see a Yemen where the streets belong to the people, not to the militia. We want to see Yemenis able to go about their daily lives and grow their communities, where civic leaders are the ones shaping the future of the country, not those with arms,” he stated.
He added that the Security Council is following the situation in Yemen closely.“Indeed, the world is watching the peace process in Yemen and there will be consequences for those who think they may derail the peace process.” He stressed that the continuous engagement of all actors will be critical and
long-term stability will depend on the success of a genuinely participatory process.
“The international community has pressed hard for the sides to reach a political settlement and these calls have been heeded. Now donors have to back up their calls for reform by providing the support that is needed to implement the agreement and see the country through this transition period.”
Yemen president 'to seek medical treatment abroad'
December 22, 2011
Yemen's president is expected to leave the country for more medical treatment for injuries suffered in an attack on his palace in June, a UN envoy says.
Veteran leader Abdullah Ali Saleh earlier spent three months recuperating in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Saleh signed a peace deal last month after a government crackdown on months of protests left hundreds dead.
Under the deal he agreed to transfer power to his deputy, and formally to stand down in February.
Observers say there had been concern that Mr Saleh would try to avoid leaving office on time, but his medical condition may now force his departure.
'Fraught with difficulties'
"My understanding is that President Saleh still requires serious medical treatment and medical treatment that he will require outside of Yemen," UN special envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council.
"Efforts are being made for arrangements to be concluded for him to get this treatment," he said.
President Saleh is due to give up his presidential title at the next elections under an agreement brokered by the US and Gulf Arab states.
But Mr Benomar stressed this was "a first step in a long road fraught with difficulties" for Yemen.
He said the new government needed to re-establish control over large parts of the country now under the control of al-Qaeda.
And he praised leaders for ordering the military back to barracks and removing checkpoints.
But many protesters are still angry that the transfer deal has not gone far enough and that it gives Mr Saleh and his family immunity from prosecution.
Yemen's president is expected to leave the country for more medical treatment for injuries suffered in an attack on his palace in June, a UN envoy says.
Veteran leader Abdullah Ali Saleh earlier spent three months recuperating in Saudi Arabia.
Mr Saleh signed a peace deal last month after a government crackdown on months of protests left hundreds dead.
Under the deal he agreed to transfer power to his deputy, and formally to stand down in February.
Observers say there had been concern that Mr Saleh would try to avoid leaving office on time, but his medical condition may now force his departure.
'Fraught with difficulties'
"My understanding is that President Saleh still requires serious medical treatment and medical treatment that he will require outside of Yemen," UN special envoy to Yemen Jamal Benomar told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council.
"Efforts are being made for arrangements to be concluded for him to get this treatment," he said.
President Saleh is due to give up his presidential title at the next elections under an agreement brokered by the US and Gulf Arab states.
But Mr Benomar stressed this was "a first step in a long road fraught with difficulties" for Yemen.
He said the new government needed to re-establish control over large parts of the country now under the control of al-Qaeda.
And he praised leaders for ordering the military back to barracks and removing checkpoints.
But many protesters are still angry that the transfer deal has not gone far enough and that it gives Mr Saleh and his family immunity from prosecution.
Yemen protesters demand Saleh trial, denounce government
Thu Dec 22, 2011
By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA (Reuters) - Thousands of Yemenis marched toward the capital on Thursday, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh face trial for killings of protesters over 11 months of demonstrations against him and denouncing a new government that would spare him prosecution.
The United Nations, which endorsed a pact brokered by Yemen's wealthier neighbours to stave off civil war by easing Saleh from power, said he would need medical treatment abroad while the country prepares to elect a successor.
The struggle over Saleh's fate has rekindled the poor country's multiple conflicts, and fanned fears in Washington that the Yemeni wing of al Qaeda could grow stronger if the Arabian Peninsula state descends further into chaos.
"The goal is to bring down the regime and try its figures, to refuse giving Saleh and his aides any parliamentary immunity," said Waddah al-Adeeb, an organiser of the march which set out from the southern city of Taiz earlier this week.
"And we reject the unity government, because it just reproduces the regime itself," he said by telephone from some 100 km (62 miles) south of the capital Sanaa.
He was referring to a government split between members of Saleh's party and opposition parties tasked with leading Yemen to the vote in February.
It is also to oversee the disengagement of troops loyal to Saleh - including a well-armed unit led by his son - and those of tribesmen and rebel army factions that have waged war in Sanaa and elsewhere.
The government's role is laid out in the transition pact, echoed by a U.N. Security Council resolution, that would make Saleh the fourth leader to surrender power after mass protests that have redrawn the political map of the Middle East.
U.N. Yemen envoy Jamal Benomar, who is attempting to implement the transition plan, said on Wednesday that efforts were underway to arrange treatment for Saleh, who suffered burns and other injuries in an apparent assassination attempt in June.
Yemeni government and opposition officials said on Wednesday that efforts to pull pro-Saleh forces and those of tribal leader Sadeq al-Ahmar from the capital's Hasaba and Soufan districts, where they have clashed sporadically, had bogged down.
RENEWED FIGHTING WITH ISLAMISTS IN SOUTH
Any successor government will face multiple challenges including resurgent separatist sentiment in the south, formerly a socialist republic that fought a civil war with Saleh's north in 1994 after four turbulent years of formal union.
The region is also home to Islamists who have seized chunks of Abyan province. Ensuing fighting with government troops has sparked mass flight, compounding humanitarian crisis in a country with some 500,000 internally displaced people.
An official in Abyan, whose capital Zinjibar fell to Islamist fighters in May, said that seven government troops and as many as 20 Islamist fighters had been killed since Tuesday in a fresh round of fighting in that city.
Residents of nearby Jaar said columns of smoke were rising from parts of the city where there had been intense fighting, and that the bodies of Islamist fighters had been carried out for burial.
In another southern province, Lahej, a local official said six men suspected of membership in al Qaeda had been detained.
Saleh's opponents accuse him of fomenting chaos and ceding territory to Islamists in the region to underline his claim that only his rule can contain the country's al Qaeda branch, which has planned attacks abroad, abortive to date, from Yemen.
The United States, which long backed Saleh as a cornerstone of its "counter-terrorism" policy and has carried out drone attacks in Yemen, has thrown its weight behind the plan to replace him, seeing him as more a liability than asset now.
There have also been repeated attacks on Yemen's main oil pipeline, paralysing the country's largest refinery and leading to acute fuel shortages and cut-offs of exports that in turn fund imports of staple foodstuffs.
The Yemeni state news agency on Wednesday quoted the oil minister as saying those attacks had cost Yemen $700 million, without elaborating whether that sum came from lost exports, estimated damage to infrastructure or both.
By Mohammed Ghobari
SANAA (Reuters) - Thousands of Yemenis marched toward the capital on Thursday, demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh face trial for killings of protesters over 11 months of demonstrations against him and denouncing a new government that would spare him prosecution.
The United Nations, which endorsed a pact brokered by Yemen's wealthier neighbours to stave off civil war by easing Saleh from power, said he would need medical treatment abroad while the country prepares to elect a successor.
The struggle over Saleh's fate has rekindled the poor country's multiple conflicts, and fanned fears in Washington that the Yemeni wing of al Qaeda could grow stronger if the Arabian Peninsula state descends further into chaos.
"The goal is to bring down the regime and try its figures, to refuse giving Saleh and his aides any parliamentary immunity," said Waddah al-Adeeb, an organiser of the march which set out from the southern city of Taiz earlier this week.
"And we reject the unity government, because it just reproduces the regime itself," he said by telephone from some 100 km (62 miles) south of the capital Sanaa.
He was referring to a government split between members of Saleh's party and opposition parties tasked with leading Yemen to the vote in February.
It is also to oversee the disengagement of troops loyal to Saleh - including a well-armed unit led by his son - and those of tribesmen and rebel army factions that have waged war in Sanaa and elsewhere.
The government's role is laid out in the transition pact, echoed by a U.N. Security Council resolution, that would make Saleh the fourth leader to surrender power after mass protests that have redrawn the political map of the Middle East.
U.N. Yemen envoy Jamal Benomar, who is attempting to implement the transition plan, said on Wednesday that efforts were underway to arrange treatment for Saleh, who suffered burns and other injuries in an apparent assassination attempt in June.
Yemeni government and opposition officials said on Wednesday that efforts to pull pro-Saleh forces and those of tribal leader Sadeq al-Ahmar from the capital's Hasaba and Soufan districts, where they have clashed sporadically, had bogged down.
RENEWED FIGHTING WITH ISLAMISTS IN SOUTH
Any successor government will face multiple challenges including resurgent separatist sentiment in the south, formerly a socialist republic that fought a civil war with Saleh's north in 1994 after four turbulent years of formal union.
The region is also home to Islamists who have seized chunks of Abyan province. Ensuing fighting with government troops has sparked mass flight, compounding humanitarian crisis in a country with some 500,000 internally displaced people.
An official in Abyan, whose capital Zinjibar fell to Islamist fighters in May, said that seven government troops and as many as 20 Islamist fighters had been killed since Tuesday in a fresh round of fighting in that city.
Residents of nearby Jaar said columns of smoke were rising from parts of the city where there had been intense fighting, and that the bodies of Islamist fighters had been carried out for burial.
In another southern province, Lahej, a local official said six men suspected of membership in al Qaeda had been detained.
Saleh's opponents accuse him of fomenting chaos and ceding territory to Islamists in the region to underline his claim that only his rule can contain the country's al Qaeda branch, which has planned attacks abroad, abortive to date, from Yemen.
The United States, which long backed Saleh as a cornerstone of its "counter-terrorism" policy and has carried out drone attacks in Yemen, has thrown its weight behind the plan to replace him, seeing him as more a liability than asset now.
There have also been repeated attacks on Yemen's main oil pipeline, paralysing the country's largest refinery and leading to acute fuel shortages and cut-offs of exports that in turn fund imports of staple foodstuffs.
The Yemeni state news agency on Wednesday quoted the oil minister as saying those attacks had cost Yemen $700 million, without elaborating whether that sum came from lost exports, estimated damage to infrastructure or both.
Yemen Kills Brother Of Country’s Al-Qaida Leader
By Ahmed Al-haj, Associated Press
SANAA, Yemen (AP) December 22, 2011 — The brother of Yemen’s al-Qaida leader was among dozens of people killed in battles raging for days in the south of the country, security and military officials said Thursday.
A member of a local tribe confirmed that Abdel-Rahman al-Wahishi was killed in fighting Wednesday between Yemen’s military and Islamic militants near the city of Zinjibar.
He was a younger brother of Nasser al-Wahishi, a Yemeni who once served as Osama bin Laden’s personal aide in Afghanistan and now leads al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The younger al-Wahishi is believed to have been an operative in the group, but it is not clear what his role was in its hierarchy.
The security officials said faulty intelligence had indicated the military was firing on the al-Qaida leader himself, a high-value target for both the United States and Yemen’s government. Further investigation revealed that the leader was not in the area at the time and that the man killed was the younger brother.
At least 51 people, including 18 soldiers, have been killed in the fighting since Sunday, according to an area hospital and the security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
SANAA, Yemen (AP) December 22, 2011 — The brother of Yemen’s al-Qaida leader was among dozens of people killed in battles raging for days in the south of the country, security and military officials said Thursday.
A member of a local tribe confirmed that Abdel-Rahman al-Wahishi was killed in fighting Wednesday between Yemen’s military and Islamic militants near the city of Zinjibar.
He was a younger brother of Nasser al-Wahishi, a Yemeni who once served as Osama bin Laden’s personal aide in Afghanistan and now leads al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The younger al-Wahishi is believed to have been an operative in the group, but it is not clear what his role was in its hierarchy.
The security officials said faulty intelligence had indicated the military was firing on the al-Qaida leader himself, a high-value target for both the United States and Yemen’s government. Further investigation revealed that the leader was not in the area at the time and that the man killed was the younger brother.
At least 51 people, including 18 soldiers, have been killed in the fighting since Sunday, according to an area hospital and the security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
EU calls for “inclusive” Yemen democratic transition
December 22, 2011
EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton told Yemeni Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi on Thursday that his country's democratic transition must be inclusive in order to succeed.
Ashton said she called Hadi to underline her "firm support" for his efforts after veteran President Ail Abdullah Saleh agreed last month to hand over power to his deputy following February elections.
"I confirmed the EU's continued support to Yemen and to a Yemeni-led, inclusive and democratic transition process on the basis of a sustainable national consensus," she said in a statement.
"I assured the vice president that we will stand by him in his efforts towards a better future based on democracy, justice and human rights," she said.
"I also underlined the EU's view that to succeed, the transition process must be inclusive: we discussed how best to reach out to the large numbers of unemployed young people, the youth movements and other groups."
A national unity government, headed by the opposition, was sworn in earlier this month to lead a three-month transition period until early polls are held and Saleh formally steps down.
After the February elections, Hadi will take over the presidency for an interim two-year period under a Gulf-sponsored deal drafted to resolve Yemen's political crisis.
EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton told Yemeni Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi on Thursday that his country's democratic transition must be inclusive in order to succeed.
Ashton said she called Hadi to underline her "firm support" for his efforts after veteran President Ail Abdullah Saleh agreed last month to hand over power to his deputy following February elections.
"I confirmed the EU's continued support to Yemen and to a Yemeni-led, inclusive and democratic transition process on the basis of a sustainable national consensus," she said in a statement.
"I assured the vice president that we will stand by him in his efforts towards a better future based on democracy, justice and human rights," she said.
"I also underlined the EU's view that to succeed, the transition process must be inclusive: we discussed how best to reach out to the large numbers of unemployed young people, the youth movements and other groups."
A national unity government, headed by the opposition, was sworn in earlier this month to lead a three-month transition period until early polls are held and Saleh formally steps down.
After the February elections, Hadi will take over the presidency for an interim two-year period under a Gulf-sponsored deal drafted to resolve Yemen's political crisis.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Four Russians fall victims to war in Yemen
Sana'a, December 21, 2011- Four Russian citizens have been killed in Yemen. Armed clashes between the government troops and the opposition continue in this country for months. The unrest started in February, when opposition activists demanded former President Ali Saleh should be put on trial.
Foreign Ministry has officially confirmed the news about the death of four Russian citizens in Yemen. The Russians arrived in the country for religious purposes. The group was rather large: there were tens of people in it.
The group of Russian citizens is staying in Yemen's Saadah province. The people study at Dar al-Hadith religious center, in the town of Dammaj. According to the information from the Russian embassy in Sanaa, there are 36 people in the group. They are students and their family members, including children. The students arrived in Yemen illegally, bypassing the rules of departure from the Russian Federation. They maintained no contacts either with the Russian embassy or the Consulate Office," the message posted on the official website of the Foreign Ministry said.
The town of Dammaj found itself in the area of combat actions between the government troops and the gunmen of al-Husi, a Shiite tribal confederation. Local Sunni fundamentalists also struggle against the Shiite radicals. They own the religious center, where the above-mentioned Russians study. For the time being, the deaths of approximately 60 Sunni radicals have been confirmed. The Russian citizens were among them.
"The Russian Embassy continues to establish contacts with representatives of Yemeni authorities to identify the fates of the Russian citizens and provide assistance to them in leaving the troubled zone. The administrations of the ministries for foreign and internal affairs of Yemen have taken the question under control. We are also in contact with the International Red Cross Committee in this country - the organization has humanitarian access to various districts of Saadah province.
Diplomats previously warned Russian citizens against tours to Yemen. "The Foreign Ministry would like to remind Russian citizens that we strongly recommend not to visit this country," RIA Novosti quoted Alexander Lukashevich, an official spokesman for the ministry, as saying.
The combat activity started in Yemen in the forefront of the "Arab spring" in the beginning of 2011. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down on November 23, after 30 years of rule. It was then said that Saleh would travel to the USA for medical treatment. However, the former leader has not received the permission from the US authorities for that. The USA reportedly denied Saleh the visa in the beginning of December, although it was then said that the question had not been discussed yet.
Sources at the US State Department say that the ex-president of Yemen will most likely receive the visa. Afterwards, after the course of medical treatment in the States, Ali Saleh will be able to move to Germany, Yemen Fox said with reference to Akhbar-Al-Yom.
Nowadays, Yemen is ruled by the interim government under the chairmanship of the new Prime Minister, Mohammed Basindwa. Basindwa headed the Foreign Ministry of Yemen during the 1990s.
Russia welcomed the establishment of the new government of Yemen, which was supposed to conduct the general elections in Yemen on February 21, 2012.
Foreign Ministry has officially confirmed the news about the death of four Russian citizens in Yemen. The Russians arrived in the country for religious purposes. The group was rather large: there were tens of people in it.
The group of Russian citizens is staying in Yemen's Saadah province. The people study at Dar al-Hadith religious center, in the town of Dammaj. According to the information from the Russian embassy in Sanaa, there are 36 people in the group. They are students and their family members, including children. The students arrived in Yemen illegally, bypassing the rules of departure from the Russian Federation. They maintained no contacts either with the Russian embassy or the Consulate Office," the message posted on the official website of the Foreign Ministry said.
The town of Dammaj found itself in the area of combat actions between the government troops and the gunmen of al-Husi, a Shiite tribal confederation. Local Sunni fundamentalists also struggle against the Shiite radicals. They own the religious center, where the above-mentioned Russians study. For the time being, the deaths of approximately 60 Sunni radicals have been confirmed. The Russian citizens were among them.
"The Russian Embassy continues to establish contacts with representatives of Yemeni authorities to identify the fates of the Russian citizens and provide assistance to them in leaving the troubled zone. The administrations of the ministries for foreign and internal affairs of Yemen have taken the question under control. We are also in contact with the International Red Cross Committee in this country - the organization has humanitarian access to various districts of Saadah province.
Diplomats previously warned Russian citizens against tours to Yemen. "The Foreign Ministry would like to remind Russian citizens that we strongly recommend not to visit this country," RIA Novosti quoted Alexander Lukashevich, an official spokesman for the ministry, as saying.
The combat activity started in Yemen in the forefront of the "Arab spring" in the beginning of 2011. Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down on November 23, after 30 years of rule. It was then said that Saleh would travel to the USA for medical treatment. However, the former leader has not received the permission from the US authorities for that. The USA reportedly denied Saleh the visa in the beginning of December, although it was then said that the question had not been discussed yet.
Sources at the US State Department say that the ex-president of Yemen will most likely receive the visa. Afterwards, after the course of medical treatment in the States, Ali Saleh will be able to move to Germany, Yemen Fox said with reference to Akhbar-Al-Yom.
Nowadays, Yemen is ruled by the interim government under the chairmanship of the new Prime Minister, Mohammed Basindwa. Basindwa headed the Foreign Ministry of Yemen during the 1990s.
Russia welcomed the establishment of the new government of Yemen, which was supposed to conduct the general elections in Yemen on February 21, 2012.
US Man Convicted of Conspiring to Help Al-Qaida
December 21, 2011
Associated Press|by Laura Crimaldi
BOSTON -- A man who grew up in the Boston suburbs was convicted Tuesday of conspiring to help al-Qaida and plotting to kill U.S. Soldiers in Iraq after a two-month trial in which jurors heard references to Osama bin Laden and saw dramatic images from the Sept. 11 attacks.
The federal jury deliberated about 10 hours over three days before finding Tarek Mehanna, 29, guilty of four terror-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities. He faces life in prison, though his attorneys plan to appeal.
"The heart of the case is really this: Did Mr. Mehanna conspire to support terrorists, conspire to kill in a foreign country and then did he lie to federal investigators?" said Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz. "Today a jury of his peers concluded that he did that."
Ortiz said the references to bin Laden and 9/11 were relevant and not inflammatory, but defense attorneys said they made it impossible for their client to get a fair trial.
"This is one the most cynical government cases I've ever seen tried," said defense attorney Janice Bassil. "Picture after picture just wanting to scare the jury. Deal after deal to government witnesses. All those government witnesses did way more than Tarek Mehanna."
Prosecutors said Mehanna and two friends conspired to travel to Yemen so they could receive training at a terrorism camp and eventually go on to Iraq to fight and kill U.S. Soldiers there.
When the men were unable to find such a training camp, Mehanna returned home and began to see himself as part of the al-Qaida "media wing," translating materials promoting violent jihad and distributing them over the Internet, prosecutors said.
One of the men, Kareem Abu-zahra, testified under a grant of immunity. A third man, Ahmad Abousamra, was also charged. Prosecutors say they believe Abousamra is in Syria.
One observer said he was surprised Mehanna was convicted of all counts. Boston College Law School professor George Brown said he wasn't convinced prosecutors proved Mehanna was taking orders from a terrorist organization.
"I think the jury overall had formed an unfavorable impression of Mehanna and when his credibility was on the line like that they were not about to find in his favor," he said.
Mehanna, who was born in the U.S. and raised in the Boston suburbs, will be sentenced April 12. His mother, Souad Mehanna, sobbed after the verdict was read and was consoled by her younger son, Tamer. Mehanna's lawyers also wept.
Mehanna's father, Ahmed, a professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, said he was stunned by the verdict.
"I can't even think," he said. "It was political."
Andrew March, a Yale University professor who testified for the defense as an expert witness, said the verdict sends the message to Muslim-Americans that they do not have free speech.
"I do what he did almost every single day at Yale University. I teach Islamic law, I study Islamic law. I translate things about al-Qaida. I teach people to debate," March said. "Because I'm not a Muslim and because of what my name is, I have no problem doing it. But if my name were Tarek Mehanna, I would have everything being tapped, and that should worry every single one of us."
During the trial, which started in October, Mehanna's attorneys portrayed him as an aspiring scholar of Islam who traveled to Yemen to look for religious schools, not to get terrorist training. They said his translation and distribution of controversial publications was free speech protected by the First Amendment.
Prosecutors focused on hundreds of online chats on Mehanna's computer in which they said he and his friends talked about their desire to participate in jihad, or holy war. Several of those friends were called by prosecutors to testify against Mehanna, including one man who said he, Mehanna and a third friend tried to get terrorism training in Yemen so they could fight American Soldiers in Iraq.
Mehanna's lawyers told jurors prosecutors were using scare tactics by portraying Mehanna as a would-be terrorist and were trying to punish him for his beliefs.
The defense built its case on the testimony of a half-dozen terrorism experts. Mehanna did not testify.
His lawyers acknowledged that Mehanna expressed admiration for Osama bin Laden but said he disagreed with bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders about many things, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Jurors began deliberating Friday. In his instructions, U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr. told them that in order to find Mehanna guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida, they must find that he worked "in coordination with or at the direction of" the terrorist organization. He said independent advocacy on behalf of the organization was not a violation of the law.
Associated Press|by Laura Crimaldi
BOSTON -- A man who grew up in the Boston suburbs was convicted Tuesday of conspiring to help al-Qaida and plotting to kill U.S. Soldiers in Iraq after a two-month trial in which jurors heard references to Osama bin Laden and saw dramatic images from the Sept. 11 attacks.
The federal jury deliberated about 10 hours over three days before finding Tarek Mehanna, 29, guilty of four terror-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities. He faces life in prison, though his attorneys plan to appeal.
"The heart of the case is really this: Did Mr. Mehanna conspire to support terrorists, conspire to kill in a foreign country and then did he lie to federal investigators?" said Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz. "Today a jury of his peers concluded that he did that."
Ortiz said the references to bin Laden and 9/11 were relevant and not inflammatory, but defense attorneys said they made it impossible for their client to get a fair trial.
"This is one the most cynical government cases I've ever seen tried," said defense attorney Janice Bassil. "Picture after picture just wanting to scare the jury. Deal after deal to government witnesses. All those government witnesses did way more than Tarek Mehanna."
Prosecutors said Mehanna and two friends conspired to travel to Yemen so they could receive training at a terrorism camp and eventually go on to Iraq to fight and kill U.S. Soldiers there.
When the men were unable to find such a training camp, Mehanna returned home and began to see himself as part of the al-Qaida "media wing," translating materials promoting violent jihad and distributing them over the Internet, prosecutors said.
One of the men, Kareem Abu-zahra, testified under a grant of immunity. A third man, Ahmad Abousamra, was also charged. Prosecutors say they believe Abousamra is in Syria.
One observer said he was surprised Mehanna was convicted of all counts. Boston College Law School professor George Brown said he wasn't convinced prosecutors proved Mehanna was taking orders from a terrorist organization.
"I think the jury overall had formed an unfavorable impression of Mehanna and when his credibility was on the line like that they were not about to find in his favor," he said.
Mehanna, who was born in the U.S. and raised in the Boston suburbs, will be sentenced April 12. His mother, Souad Mehanna, sobbed after the verdict was read and was consoled by her younger son, Tamer. Mehanna's lawyers also wept.
Mehanna's father, Ahmed, a professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, said he was stunned by the verdict.
"I can't even think," he said. "It was political."
Andrew March, a Yale University professor who testified for the defense as an expert witness, said the verdict sends the message to Muslim-Americans that they do not have free speech.
"I do what he did almost every single day at Yale University. I teach Islamic law, I study Islamic law. I translate things about al-Qaida. I teach people to debate," March said. "Because I'm not a Muslim and because of what my name is, I have no problem doing it. But if my name were Tarek Mehanna, I would have everything being tapped, and that should worry every single one of us."
During the trial, which started in October, Mehanna's attorneys portrayed him as an aspiring scholar of Islam who traveled to Yemen to look for religious schools, not to get terrorist training. They said his translation and distribution of controversial publications was free speech protected by the First Amendment.
Prosecutors focused on hundreds of online chats on Mehanna's computer in which they said he and his friends talked about their desire to participate in jihad, or holy war. Several of those friends were called by prosecutors to testify against Mehanna, including one man who said he, Mehanna and a third friend tried to get terrorism training in Yemen so they could fight American Soldiers in Iraq.
Mehanna's lawyers told jurors prosecutors were using scare tactics by portraying Mehanna as a would-be terrorist and were trying to punish him for his beliefs.
The defense built its case on the testimony of a half-dozen terrorism experts. Mehanna did not testify.
His lawyers acknowledged that Mehanna expressed admiration for Osama bin Laden but said he disagreed with bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders about many things, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
Jurors began deliberating Friday. In his instructions, U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr. told them that in order to find Mehanna guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida, they must find that he worked "in coordination with or at the direction of" the terrorist organization. He said independent advocacy on behalf of the organization was not a violation of the law.
LEAD: Yemen clashes with al-Qaeda suspects leave 14 dead
Dec 21, 2011
Sana'a (dpa) - At least 14 people were killed in clashes between al-Qaeda-linked fighters and Yemeni government forces in the southern province of Abyan, military officials said Wednesday.
The fighting erupted when militants suspected of having links to al-Qaeda attacked military units on the outskirts of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan, killing four soldiers, a military official said, adding that 10 gunmen were also killed.
The opposition has accused the Yemeni government of allowing militants to control Zinjibar to justify a military offensive there and divert international attention from protests demanding that former president Ali Abdullah Saleh stand trial.
A Gulf-brokered power transfer deal last month granted Saleh immunity from legal prosecution in return for stepping down and handing over power to his deputy.
In a separate incident, a senior Yemeni security officer was killed by unknown gunmen in the southern province of Lahj, the Yemeni website Rai News reported.
Gunmen riding a motorbike shot Colonel Mahmoud Saleh as he was getting into his car late Tuesday, the report said.
Sana'a (dpa) - At least 14 people were killed in clashes between al-Qaeda-linked fighters and Yemeni government forces in the southern province of Abyan, military officials said Wednesday.
The fighting erupted when militants suspected of having links to al-Qaeda attacked military units on the outskirts of Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan, killing four soldiers, a military official said, adding that 10 gunmen were also killed.
The opposition has accused the Yemeni government of allowing militants to control Zinjibar to justify a military offensive there and divert international attention from protests demanding that former president Ali Abdullah Saleh stand trial.
A Gulf-brokered power transfer deal last month granted Saleh immunity from legal prosecution in return for stepping down and handing over power to his deputy.
In a separate incident, a senior Yemeni security officer was killed by unknown gunmen in the southern province of Lahj, the Yemeni website Rai News reported.
Gunmen riding a motorbike shot Colonel Mahmoud Saleh as he was getting into his car late Tuesday, the report said.
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