Yemen Newsfeed

[Palestine]

AJ: Another massacre in Yemen, the security forces stormed the Tahrir square in Ta'ez at least 10 were killed.

[Os Cangaceiros]

General strike in Ta'ez, protests continue

[Os Cangaceiros]

Hundreds of thousands take to the streets...yet again...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/...o6C_story.html

The deaths of four protesters in Taiz on Friday formed a rallying cry for the two demonstrations and others that drew hundreds of thousands of people across this impoverished country on the Arabian Peninsula. More than 120 people have been killed since Feb. 11 in protests inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, according to an AP count.

I wonder what the watershed moment is going to be for the situation in Yemen.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Well, the president of Yemen has announced that he will step down, making him the third head-of-state to do so, after Ben Ali in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt.

[Os Cangaceiros]

welp, turns out that asshole prefers to lead Yemen into a possible civil war.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...134881950.html

[Red Commissar]

Saleh's constant flip-flopping is exacerbating the situation. The GCC had hoped they could potentially replicate a more concerted "change" as we saw happen with Egypt with this power-transfer agreement, but he keeps screwing with it and the potential government(s) in waiting are getting tired of waiting.

Oh well, you reap what you sow.

[Sasha]

jezus, if this is true:

Meg Is Fleeing Yemen

Posted by Brendan Kiley on Tue, May 31, 2011 at 8:59 AM

Meg, Slog's occasional correspondent from Yemen (American-born, married to a Yemeni man, has lived with her family in the country for over a decade), is getting the fuck outta there.
The NYT says:

SANA, Yemen — The field of battle expanded again in Yemen on Tuesday as a cease-fire between government forces and opposition tribesmen in the capital broke down, renewing fears that the country’s continuing political stalemate could drag it into civil war.

Meg says in an email this morning:

Hi Brendan,
I'm getting ready to evacuate. I'm gonna be in Seattle on Saturday for a few hours and then Spokane. The war is starting as far as I'm concerned. The protesters in Taiz were attacked with water cannons filled with petrol and then they lit it. We heard bombing this morning for about 2 hrs. It's gonna get really bad. I'll have more time to talk when I get to the States.
Take care.

Godspeed and good luck, Meg.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I heard on the news today that thousands of tribal militia members have been engaging in gun battles with security forces on the outskirts of the capital city.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, says he is "well and in good health" after suffering injuries in an attack on his presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa.

In an audio address delivered on state television late on Friday night, Saleh said the strike, where "seven officers were martyred", was by an "outlaw gang" - the opposition Hashed tribe led by powerful Sadiq al-Ahmar.

Shells hit a mosque in the presidential palace compound where officials, including Saleh, were praying.

At least three guards and Sheikh Ali Mohsen al-Matari, an imam at the presidential compound's mosque, died and "several other officials and officers" were wounded, Yemen's state news agency SABA said.

The president was taken to the defence ministry hospital to be treated for his minor injuries, officials said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...916642890.html

I can't see Saleh surviving this showdown. Assad yes, Saleh no. It seems like his control of Yemen was tenuous even before things started heating up.

[Os Cangaceiros]

jezus, if this is true:

some horrifying pictures and reporting on this:

http://janenovak.wordpress.com/yemen...n-mass-graves/

[Palestine]

Saleh 'to seek medical care in Saudi Arabia'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...346765100.html

If that is not stepping down I don't know what is!!

[Rakhmetov]

Saleh 'to seek medical care in Saudi Arabia'

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...346765100.html

If that is not stepping down I don't know what is!!

Reminds me when the first dictator Somoza was shot by an patriotic Nicaraguan poet. Somoza was sent to Miami for treatment because he never built any decent hospitals in Nicaragua.

Edit: Saleh will fall soon and that will only inspire the masses in the region to fight for their humanity!

[Palestine]

What I hate most is a leader going to another country for treatment like Mubarak and the Saudi king Abdullah this shows how sucks their hospitals are!

[Palestine]

It looks like he's in Saudi Arabia AGAIN!!

[Os Cangaceiros]

resurgent anti-government protests

I also heard on the news today that Saleh's injuries are much graver than what was originally reported. Looks like he got taken out of the picture.