UN rights chief urges Yemen probe into protest deaths

March 11, 2011

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday called on Yemen's government to investigate alleged killings of pro-reform demonstrators.

"We call on the government to exercise restraint and to investigate all allegations of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations at the hands of the security forces," said spokesman Rupert Colville.

"The office is very concerned by allegations of the excessive use of force by some security forces," he added.

Colville said about 37 protesters and at least six security officers had reportedly been killed since the unrest started in Yemen.

The killings highlighted by the UN human rights office included those of two demonstrators at Sana'a University on March 9, the deaths of two or three prisoners in riots at Sana'a central prison on March 8 and the alleged killing of two protestors on March 4 near the town of Harf Sufyan, in the northern province of Amran.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Thursday pledge to devolve power to parliament and hold a referendum after about a month of protests, but the move was swiftly rejected as too late by the opposition.

He also ordered his security forces to ensure the safety of anti-government protestors after weeks of unrest.

Source: AFP

Mass festival in Sana'a supporting President Saleh's Initiative

SANA'A, March 11, 2011- hundreds of thousands of people participated on Friday in a mass festival in downtown of the capital Sana'a, expressing their support to the initiative of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to develop the political system.

The participants in the pro-festival lifted President Saleh's photos and slogans calling for peaceful dialogue to address the political tension and save the nation from sedition.

They chanted slogans condemning the opposition parties' disavowal of dialogue and all the political agreements signed with them on issues of concern to the country.

In contrast, the participants repeated mottos in favor of the President Saleh's initiative to form a unity government to oversee the conduct of the elections as well as the formation of a sub-committee from representatives of Parliament and the Shura Council to prepare a new constitution and put it to a referendum later this year by the people.

The participants expressed their regret for the subversive slogans adopted by the opposition parties to topple the regime through chaos and coup against the constitutional legitimacy and democracy.

On Thursday in a general national conference held in outdoor stadium in Sana'a, President Saleh announced an initiative to give solution for the current Yemeni crisis and develop the political system and to let succeed the comprehensive national dialogue with all political forces at the Yemeni arena.

Source: (Saba)

Suspected Al-Qaeda Militants kill Four Soldiers in Hadramout

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

Hadramout, Mar 11, 2011- At least four soldiers were killed in an attack, believed to be by suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen's southern province of Hadramout.

Sources told the Yemen 24 News that Al-Qaeda militants attacked a patrol vehicle in Dowen valley killing at least four soldiers and wounding others. No more details were reported.

Analysts said that Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, AQAP, has been increased its attacks against Yemen's forces since the rise of protests in which the country nowadays faces.

Around 30 people have been killed since the protests began late January.

The Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has a strong presence in southern Yemen as a series of terrorist attacks against security and army forces took place in the country's southern and eastern provinces since 2009.

A recent statistic by the Interior Ministry late last year showed that a total of 178 security force members were killed in 2010, mostly in combats against Al-Qaeda militants, and another 852 were injured.

The ministry last December said it planned to establish four counter-terrorism units in different provinces, including Hadramout, to curb the activities of resurgent Al-Qaeda wing.

Source: Yemen 24 News

Three Protesters Wounded in Aden

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

Aden, Mar 11, 2011- At least three anti-government protesters were wounded, one of them in critical condition, on Friday in Yemen's southern port of Aden during an attempt by Yemen's security forces to disperse protesters demanding the fall of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.

Eyewitnesses said that thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets in Al-Mansora district after Friday's prayer chanting anti-Saleh slogans when police forces used tear gas and batons to disperse them. No more details were reported.

Source: Yemen 24 News