Thursday, April 07, 2011

Yemen News Update: Mosque Turned Into Hospital; US Behind Mass Killings

Yemenis turn mosque into hospital

Thu Apr 7, 2011 4:50PM
presstv.ir

A picture taken in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a on March 12, 2011 showed injured anti-government protestors lying on the yard of a mosque used as a makeshift hospital.

Yemeni doctors and students have turned a mosque in the capital into a makeshift hospital to take in victims of the government's brutal crackdown on the popular revolution.

Joining hands with the medical students from the Sana'a University, the physicians have equipped the mosque, located near Sana'a's Change Square, with 35 beds, medical equipment and about a dozen medical staff, Reuters reported.

The volunteers serve patients that have been targeted with live rounds and tear gas canisters.

“Our presence is important here. We receive a lot of cases,” said one doctor, named Iman al-Awisi.

Since late January, demonstrators have been calling for an end to widespread corruption and unemployment in Yemen, also demanding ouster of the 32-year rule of despotic President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Some 40 percent of the population live on $2 a day or less and a third face food shortages.

Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations around the country, namely in the capital and the southwestern cities of Aden and Taiz.

The protests have been met by riot police or Saleh's supporters armed with knives and batons.

According to local reports, the death toll in the country has surpassed 300 since the protests began.

Saleh has said he will not seek another term in office in 2013 but has vowed to defend his regime 'with every drop of blood.'


'US directly linked to Yemen killings'

Wed Apr 6, 2011 1:51PM
presstv.ir

The director of Institute for [Persian] Gulf Affairs says the US has played a direct role in the killing anti-government protesters in Yemen.

“There is a direct link between US aid to Yemen and the killings of hundreds of demonstrators,” Ali al-Ahmed told Press TV.

Ahmed, referring to the arming of Yemeni regime by the US and the presence of the American forces in the country under the pretext of fighting terrorism, argued that the US is responsible for the high death toll among Yemeni protesters.

He went on to say that although the forces trained by the US and CIA have not directly shot the Yemeni protesters, they have provided the grounds for other forces to impose the crackdowns on unarmed civilians.

The political analyst advised the US to focus on supporting the Yemeni people instead of sending weapons to the autocratic regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, saying this is “the best way for the US to diminish the threat of al-Qaeda.”

He added that “Saleh is sustaining al-Qaeda to use it as a bargaining chip with Saudi Arabia and the US. Once Saleh is outside of the palace, al-Qaeda's threats will diminish greatly.”

Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in many Yemeni cities, including Sana'a, Aden, Taiz, calling for an end to widespread corruption and unemployment and demanding Saleh step down.

Some 40 percent of the population live on $2-a-day wages or less in the country, and a third face food shortages.

The protests have been met by riot police or Saleh loyalists armed with knives and batons.

Saleh has claimed that he will not seek another term in office in 2013 but has vowed to defend his regime "with every drop of blood".

According to local reports, the death toll in the country has surpassed 300 since anti-government protests began in late January.


Yemenis renew call for Saleh ouster

Wed Apr 6, 2011 3:43PM

Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters have poured into the streets in major Yemeni cities, defying a brutal government-led crackdown.

In the capital Sana'a, protesters gathered at Change Square on Wednesday and called for the ouster of despotic President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The protesters also urged foreign countries to convince Saleh to end his three-decade long grip on power.

"We welcome any initiative or any invitation for Ali Abdullah to leave from any foreign or Arab country, but under the condition that includes the departure of Ali Abdullah Saleh as well as changing the whole regime because it's a corrupt one," AP quoted Khaled Abdul Karim, one of the protesters, as saying.

There were no immediate reports of confrontation between forces loyal to the embattled president and anti-government protesters in the capital.

On Tuesday, at least three people were killed and 15 others were injured after pro-Saleh tribesmen clashed with soldiers backing anti-government protesters in Sana'a.

Massive anti-government protest rallies were also held on Wednesday in the southern city of Taiz, where security forces shot in the air to try to disperse the crowd. There were no reports of casualties.

Taiz demonstrations came hours after Yemeni security forces shot dead one more protester in the city, which was the scene of a deadly crackdown on Monday.

Reports coming from Taiz say Yemeni security forces have surrounded presidential palace and government buildings in the city.

Similar protest rallies were also held in the cities of Aden and Hudaydah.

Since late January, hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in main Yemeni cities calling for corruption and unemployment to be tackled and demanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down.

The protests have been met by riot police or supporters of President Saleh armed with knives and batons.

Saleh has said he will not seek another term in office in 2013 but has vowed to defend his regime "with every drop of blood."

According to local reports, at least 300 people have been killed and many others injured since the beginning of anti-Saleh demonstrations in the country.


Yemeni forces open fire on protesters

Tue Apr 5, 2011 9:43AM

Yemeni armed security forces and plainclothes officers have opened fire on anti-government protesters in the southern city of Taiz.

According to witnesses, several people have been injured but medical sources have not announced the exact number of the casualties yet.

Hundreds of security forces and government loyalists, wielding daggers and bats, attacked tens of thousands of protesters on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

After the anti-government protesters responded by pelting stones, security forces opened fire on the crowd.

On Monday, Yemeni soldiers targeted demonstrators in the city of Taiz with live bullets and killed 17 people.

The protesters demand the ouster of decades-long Yemeni ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Since late January, Yemen has been witnessing daily anti-government rallies -- inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt -- which demand economic and political reforms.

Some 40% of the population live on $2 a day or less in the country, and a third face food shortages.

Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in major cities including Sana'a, Aden and Taiz, where protests have been met by riot police or supporters of President Saleh armed with knives and batons.

Saleh has said he will not seek another term in office in 2013 but has vowed to defend his regime "with every drop of blood".

The death toll in the country has surpassed 300 since anti-government protests began in late January.

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