Yemen violence 'unacceptable': US

SANTIAGO — The White House said Monday it has told the Yemeni government that the violence seen in Sanaa is "unacceptable" as tanks took up positions in the country's capital.

"Our concern in the immediate term has been the violence that we've seen in the recent days," national security advisor Ben Rhodes told reporters on Air Force One as US President Barack Obama flew to Chile.

"We communicated to the Yemeni government that that kind of violence is unacceptable," Rhodes added.

Tanks were deployed in the Yemeni capital on Monday as top generals pledged allegiance to the "revolution" and the country's main tribal leader demanded President Ali Abdullah Saleh's exit from power.

Saleh's regime was internationally condemned after more than 50 people were killed when loyalist gunmen opened fire Friday on protesters in Sanaa's University Square, the center of the pro-democracy movement.

Source: (AFP)

At least Twenty People Killed in Al-Jawf

By Fatik Al-Rodaini

Al-Jawf, Mar 21, 2011- At least twenty people were killed and others injured in clashes in Yemen's northern province of Al-Jawf between Yemeni troops and their tribal allies and Houthi group.

The fighting was for control of a strategic military installation at the entrance to the northern province of Al-Jawf, which the rebels, also known as Houthi, have taken over.

At the end of battle in which has been continued for two days, Houthi were able to gain complete control of the site, which had two tanks and a number of military vehicles in it.

Tribal sources said that there had been other clashes in the area in recent days.

Yemen has witnessed sporadic battles since 2004 between Yemeni government troops and rebels.

National Defense Council in permanent session

SANA'A, March 21 (Saba)- The National Defense Council announced Monday that "the council is in permanent session" to be familiar with the developments in the country.

This came in the Council's meeting chaired by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to discuss the developments of the political situation at the national arena and steps to maintain security, stability and social peace.

The Council stressed that the constitutional institutions will faithfully carry out their duties to preserve the constitutional legality, democracy, unity and republican system as well as security, stability of the country and all gains of the Yemeni people.

In addition, the Defense Council confirmed that the armed forces and security institution will bear its constitutional responsibilities in performing its duty to maintain the security of the homeland and citizens and will stand against any schemes of coup on the constitutional legitimacy and democracy.

President Saleh meets members of Parliament, Shura council

SANA'A, March 21 (Saba) - President Ali Abdullah Saleh met here on Monday with a number of members of Parliament, Shura Council, local councils, social figures and youths coming from different governorates.

At the meeting, the attendants expressed their support for the constitutional legitimacy and their rejection of the coup against the constitutional legitimacy, law, security and stability.

Armed, security forces announces significant statement

SANA'A, March 21 (Saba)- Armed and security forces issued on Monday an important statement in which they announced their commitment to be loyal to the country and protect the constitution legitimacy, security, stability and unity, in addition to achievements of the people of Yemen.

They affirmed that they will not make it possible for any coup against democracy, the constitution legitimacy and security of the country and the Yemeni people.

Timeline: Saleh's 32-year rule in Yemen

Mon Mar 21, 2011

(Reuters) - Here is a timeline of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule in Yemen:

July 1978 - Saleh takes power in the former North Yemen.

February 1979 - Saleh crushes an attempt to overthrow him.

May 1990 - Pro-Western North Yemen and socialist South Yemen merge after 300 years of separation to form a powerful new republic dominating the strategic entrance to the Red Sea.

-- North Yemeni leader Saleh proclaims unification in Aden after the parliaments of both states elect him president.

May-July 1994 - Northern Yemen declares the Yemeni civil war is over after gaining control of Aden, its southern foe's last bastion and ending a bid to revive an independent state.

-- Sanaa declares that former vice-president Ali Salem al-Baidh and his supporters who tried to secede from a four-year merger with the north have been defeated in a two-month civil war and that unity for the Yemen is now assured.

-- Southern leaders led by Baidh, who set up a breakaway southern state on May 21, are forced to flee into exile.

October 2000 - Bombing of USS Cole in Aden harbor kills 17 sailors and blows hole in navy vessel's hull.

November 2001 - Saleh declares support for Washington's "war on terror."

February 2008 -- A fragile truce is signed with the Houthis, but clashes soon resume. Saleh has yet to crush the four-year-old Houthi revolt by Zaidi Shi'ite tribes in the northwest region of Saada. Saleh unilaterally declares the war over in July 2008. However, full-scale fighting resumes a year later.

January 2009 - Al Qaeda's Yemeni and Saudi wings announce merger in new group called al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) led by Nasser al-Wahayshi.

November 2009 - Saudi Arabia launches a military offensive against rebels after a rebel cross-border incursion.

-- The Houthi deny accusations that infiltrators entered Saudi territory and call the offensive against the group "unjustified," accusing it of mainly targeting civilians.

January 2010 - A meeting of Western and Gulf foreign ministers in London aims to bolster Yemen's fight against al Qaeda.

February 2010 - Yemen and northern Shi'ite rebels agree to a truce aimed at ending the war that has raged sporadically since 2004 and which has drawn in Saudi Arabia.

February 2011 - Saleh says he will not seek to extend his presidency beyond his current term, which expires in 2013.

-- A day of anti-government protests on February 3 attracts more than 20,000 people on to the streets in Sanaa.

March 2011 - The opposition presents Saleh on March 2 with a road map for a smooth transition of power, offering him a graceful exit.

-- Saleh, hoping to defuse increasingly violent protests, says he will draw up a new constitution to create a parliamentary system of government. An opposition spokesman swiftly rejects the proposal.

-- Snipers kill 52 protesters among crowds that flocked to a sit-in at Sanaa University after Friday prayers on March 18. The killings prompt Saleh to declare a state of emergency for 30 days that restricts freedom of movement and the right to gather and gives police more powers to make arrests. The tourism minister and head of the ruling party's foreign affairs committee quit in protest.

-- Saleh fires his government on March 20.

-- General Ali Mohsen, a powerful figure close to Saleh, expresses support for pro-democracy protesters but stops short of resigning or demanding that Saleh end his rule. Abdel-Wahhab Tawaf, Yemen's ambassador to Syria, also resigns his post on March 21.

Source: Reuters