Five Qaeda suspects held in south Yemen after killing

29 October 2011

Aden. Yemeni police arrested five suspects after the killing of a top security agent in a car bombing blamed on Al-Qaeda in the southern city of Aden, a source close to the security services said Saturday, AFP reports.

"The five suspects were arrested shortly after the assassination of Colonel Ali al-Hajji, head of an anti-terrorist unit in Aden, and are being questioned" on their role in the attack, the source said.

He said they were found in a nearby vehicle with a remote control device when the officer was blown up in his car on Friday in Al-Arish district near Aden airport, in an attack which also wounded two of his children.

A police source told AFP that four members of the security forces were wounded in another bomb attack late on Friday on a checkpoint near a police station in Aden.

Vice-President Hadi Leaves Yemen for the US

Sana'a, October 29, 2011

Vice-president Abdu Rabbu Mansoor Hadi left Yemen for the United States of America on Friday, making a stop in Dubai where he is rumored to stay for a day or so.

The State news agency SABA, announced that Hadi was travelling for medical reasons as he had scheduled a routine medical check-up in the US, taking place at one of Cleveland Hospitals.

The agency did not specify however whether Hadi was also planning to use the trip to hold talks with officials and diplomats regarding the recently approved UN resolution against President Saleh.

Interestingly enough, Hadi's trip to the US coincide with the arrival in Yemen of UN envoy Benomar and GCC secretary General al-Zayani, further delaying any hope of a quick transition of power since its main party will not be present.

Under the terms of the GCC brokered proposal, President Saleh would transfer his power to VP Hadi before announcing his official resignation.

Yemen’s power cuts

October 29 2011

Amal Ibrahim, a housewife living in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, has to contend with power cuts that have become a daily occurrence since the protests and consequent political crisis began in the Arabian Peninsula country earlier this year.

“I am unable to do my household chores such as cooking and washing as an electricity outage can last for 22 hours a day,” she told dpa.

“This reminds me of the hard life in the early 1980s when housewives used to do housework manually for there were no electric appliances,” Ibrahim adds.

Millions of Yemenis have taken to the streets since February demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year rule.

The crisis has recently turned violent with clashes, frequently resulting in deaths, between forces loyal to Saleh and his rivals becoming more frequent in Sana'a.

Before the eruption of the anti-Saleh uprising, residents in Sana'a say the electricity supply was erratic but not as bad as it is now.

“I miss those days when electricity used to be cut off for only four to five hours a day,” says Mohammed Abdullah, who runs a furniture workshop in Sana'a.

Due to the frequent power blackouts, Mohammed says he cannot meet orders from his customers on time.

“I have bought an electricity generator so that I can do my job,” he says. But he is facing another problem: a shortage of diesel fuel necessary for operating his generator.

“Diesel is not available in Sana'a. I have to go outside the capital to get it at prices, which are at least twice as high as before,” he says.

Work at the International Bank of Yemen in Sana'a has also been negatively affected by the lack of electricity, according to employee Basim al-Bahri.

“Worse, we sometimes run out of diesel fuel for generators used by the bank,” he adds.

The International Red Cross Committee (IRCC) said on Friday that essential services such as healthcare, electricity, water and education have been deeply disrupted, if not suspended, in Sana'a due to violence.

“Over the past few weeks, there has rarely been a moment of calm in Sana'a,” the IRCC said.

“For everyone, it is difficult if not impossible to move about within the city, which is filled with armed men, checkpoints and roadblocks,” said Eric Marclay, the head of the ICRC delegation in Yemen.

Despite the power outages, people in Sana'a notice that on certain occasions, electricity is always available.

This was the case on September 23 when the Yemeni president returned to the country from Saudi Arabia where he had stayed for almost four months recovering from injuries sustained in an attack on the presidential palace

Likewise, there are no power cuts when the president gives a televised speech.

“Only on such occasions, we can lead a normal life,” says al-Bahri.

Government officials have blamed power outages in Sana'a on attacks mounted by anti-Saleh tribesmen against electricity grids.

But the opposition accuses the government of deliberately disrupting electricity supplies to distort the image of anti-Saleh forces. - Sapa-DPA