Duizenden in Jemen eisen vertrek president

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Jeminitische president Saleh gaat akkoord met vertrekvoorstel

Al Abdullah Saleh gaat akkoord met het voorstel van de Golf Samenwerkingsraad (GCC), meldt The Wall Street Journal. Dat zou betekenen dat hij binnen 30 dagen aftreedt in ruil voor immuniteit voor hemzelf en zijn familie.

Het lijkt erop dat de druk van bondgenoten Saudi-Arabië en de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten Saleh zover heeft gekregen dat de Jemenitische president akkoord gaat. Lange tijd wist hij van geen wijken en eerdere pogingen tot bemiddeling door de Golfstaten werden door hem afgewezen.

Medewerker Tariq Shami zei tegen de Amerikaanse krant:


President Saleh heeft het voorstel in overweging genomen en geaccepteerd. Hoewel hij het constitutionele recht heeft aan de macht te blijven, is hij bereid te vertrekken volgens de voorwaarden die voorgesteld zijn.

Met de toezegging is een overhandiging van de macht in het door geweld verscheurde land dichterbij, al is het nog de vraag of de oppositie akkoord gaat met het plan. Vanmorgen liet een woordvoerder van de oppositie weten positief tegenover het voorstel te staan, waarin Saleh binnen 30 dagen de macht moet overdragen aan de vice-president. Zijn zoon en neven behouden 60 dagen de leiding over het leger en veiligheidsdiensten om terroristische acties tegen te gaan. De president en zijn familie kunnen niet vervolgd worden.

Veel van de tienduizenden betogers die dagelijks de straat op gaan, zijn het echter niet eens met de immuniteit voor Saleh en de zijnen. Ook vandaag gingen ze weer in grote getale de straat op, ook om hun ongenoegen over het plan te laten blijken. “Wij, de jongeren van de revolutie, gaan niet akkoord met een voorstel dat Saleh niet verantwoordelijk houdt voor de dood van meer dan 140 demonstranten”, was te lezen in een verklaring. “Het GCC wil dat hij binnen dertig dagen opstapt, wij eisen zijn onmiddelijke vertrek. Dit is tegen de wens van het volk in.”

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Op zaterdag 23 april 2011 20:50 schreef Hans_van_Baalen het volgende:
Clandestien moordcommando > immuniteit

Het moet natuurlijk niet zo zijn dat dictators denken dat ze hiermee weg kunnen komen, ondanks de immuniteit. Dictators verdienen niet minder dan hun hele leven in angst te leven.

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Op zaterdag 23 april 2011 20:31 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

[..]

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Op zondag 24 april 2011 14:15 schreef doeterniettoezegiktoch het volgende:

[..]

ik hoorde het gisteren op het nieuws ja... maarre .. eerst zien dan geloven ( hij heeft al een x eerder geroepen dat ie misschien zou aftreden )

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http://www.volkskrant.nl/(...)ekenen-akkoord.dhtml

De oppositie in Jemen tegen het bewind van president Ali Abdullah Saleh en de regeringspartij sturen morgen afgezanten naar de Saudische hoofdstad Riyad om een vredesplan te tekenen. Dat hebben zegslieden van beide partijen dinsdag in Sanaa laten weten.

Een samenwerkingsorgaan van zes Arabische landen aan de Perzische Golf, de GCC (Golf Samenwerkingsgraad), heeft een plan gemaakt om het regime en de strijd in Jemen te beëindigen. Het moet maandag worden getekend. De secretaris-generaal van de GCC, Abdullatif al-Zayani, zou woensdag in Sanaa over de ondertekeningsceremonie overleg plegen.

Volgens het plan moet de sinds 1978 heersende Saleh een maand na de ondertekening aftreden. Leden van zijn eigen regeringspartij, het Algemene Volkscongres, aanvaarden dit en willen het ook ondertekenen. Dat bevestigde dinsdag Sultan al-Barakani, vicevoorzitter van het Volkscongres. Het plan voorziet voorts in de vorming van een overgangsregering en presidentsverkiezingen.

Plaatsvervanger
Een woordvoerder van de oppositie, Mohammed Qahtan, bevestigde dat de oppositie gaat tekenen. Het plan beoogt nieuwe presidentsverkiezingen. President Saleh zou zijn macht moeten overdragen aan een plaatsvervanger, maar Saleh wil aanblijven tot zijn huidige ambtstermijn in 2013 verstrijkt. Hij lijkt te negeren dat ook zijn eigen partij aan een snelle overdracht van de macht meewerkt.

Het is al drie maanden crisis in het 23 miljoen inwoners tellende Jemen. Bij pogingen de protesten tegen het regime neer te slaan zijn zeker 130 mensen gedood. Het straatarme land wordt al lange tijd door een reeks problemen geplaagd, zoals chronische stammentwist, overbevolking en werkloosheid, corruptie, dreigend watertekort, separatisme in het zuiden, extremistische jihadisten en drugsmisbruik.

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5.27pm: Tom Finn, who is in Sana'a, reports that around 2,000 protesters marching from Change Square towards the Ministerial Council headquarters have been shot at by men in military uniforms:

So far two teenagers have been killed and around 60 people — among them women and children — have sustained bullet wounds.
There was some confusion at first as to who the troops actually belonged to: protesters said they were wearing uniforms similar to those of soldiers loyal to the renegade general Ali Mohsin, who have until now been guarding the protest camp at Change Square.
Among those injured is female activist Bushra Al-Surabi, who is suffering from a bullet wound to the leg.
The march was part of new efforts by Sana'a protesters to put more pressure on President Saleh. Other measures include blocking roads and carrying out acts of civil disobedience.

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Today is just another sad day in the unhappy Yemen , peaceful protesters are shot down by the Pro-Saleh security forces in Taiz and Sana’a
There was a horrible massacre committed in Taiz this morning from couple hours ago. Many peaceful protesters were killed and injured. The pro-Saleh security forces opened their fires against the peaceful protesters who were carrying flowers. There were snipers as usual over the rooftops based on the injuries and fatal shots in the heads you can see in the photos and the videos.
This is the second massacre committed in Taiz in just 48 hours , the same thing happened on May 9th as well.

Live ammunition used in Taiz "AP"

An injured in Taiz this morning after the break
you will see his injury "Facebook"
Beware Extreme graphic videos and photos below

A close up to his injury is in his neck "Facebook"

An injured in Taiz this morning
"Facebook"

From Taiz : The first martyr to be killed by a head shot

The crimes of Ali Saleh in Taiz

The crimes of Ali Saleh in Taiz-2

The injured and martyrs of Taiz on May 11th
Till now the Pro-Ali Abdullah Saleh security forces clashed with thousands of the protesters in Sana'a using heavy weapons.
There are currently hundreds of injured according to news coming from the city. News agencies are saying that there were several Yemeni protesters killed in front of the cabinet HQ “Two were actually confirmed to be killed there” The security forces are reportedly preventing the ambulances from reaching to the injured. There are women and children among the injured. The thugs are kidnapping the activists as well there. Despite all this the protests are still going and according to Yemeni revolutionary FB pages updates there are protests currently heading towards the TV building and presidential palace. They have started to step up tents at the cabinet HQ.
Update : A group of soldiers has joined the protesters at the cabinet HQ.

Security forces standing in front of protesters in Sana’a

According to unconfirmed news the protesters managed to get in to the cabinet HQ and got some important documents , it is still unconfirmed and I am not sure it is true because there are news that the security forces are cracking violently the protests in Sana'a. There is a reported use of gases "most probably tear gas grenades" in Sana'a from short while ago.
Things are evolving rapidly and violently , I will deny my wish that next Friday Ali Abdullah Saleh will not be in his place anymore.
The internet is reportedly cut in certain areas in Sana’a including the Cabinet HQ’s area. Blood donors are urged to donate their blood to Sana'a hospitals.
On the other hand there is a news that the revolutionaries in Ibb have gained control on the governorate building and the radio building there as well. The revolutionaries of Ibb are calling the revolutionaries across the country to do the same like them.
I do not understand how many Yemenis will have to be killed so Ali Abdullah Saleh will continue in his chair.
At first I thought that he feared to face the same fate of Mubarak , to be prosecuted for his crimes along with his family but when I believe that this man is imitating Bashar El Assad , he thinks that if he imitates this dictator in Syria , he will continue to be the president. I know that the GCC has been trying to solve peacefully the situation in Yemen , yet I think those people killed at Saudi Arabia’s backyard are much important than accepting new members in the council.
It is a miracle that so far the revolution in Yemen is peaceful unarmed but the question is for how far it will go peaceful in this way when young people are getting killed like that !?
Updates :

Violent clashes as well in Al Hudaydah , the security forces opened their fires on the protesters killing two while not least than 30 were injured . The security forces used the governorate HQ building rooftops for their snipers. The protesters are trying currently to breaking in to the building in revenge.

The first martyr in Al Hudaydah May Allah bless his soul
Protests in Aden and Al Mukalla in solidarity with Sana'a , Taiz and Al Hudayah.
According to preliminary reports at least 7 were killed and hundreds were injured in Sana'a.
Here is a video from Sana'a showing snipers over the rooftops targeting protesters.

The security forces are reportedly encircling currently blood banks and hospitals to stop blood donors from going there !!
Here is the latest video from Sana'a showing the protesters being sprayed by something "I think it is water"

@9:44 PM The death toll in Sana'a has increased in to 10

Another video showing Sana'a under file.

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Geweld in Jemen houdt aan, president weet van geen wijken

In het zuiden van Jemen zijn vanmiddag bij een anti-regeringsdemonstratie drie betogers gedood door Jemenitische ordetroepen. Ondertussen herhaalde president Saleh in hoofstad Sanaa dat hij vastberaden is om aan de macht te blijven.

De drie doden vielen in de ten zuidoosten van Sanaa gelegen stad Ibb (kaart). Ooggetuigen zeiden tegen persbureau AFP dat ordetroepen het vuur openden op een menigte die na het vrijdagmiddaggebed een demonstratie hield. Naast de doden zouden er vijf gewonden zijn gevallen.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh, van wie de anti-regeringsbetogers al maanden het aftreden eisen, zei in Sanaa dat hij zijn positie “met al zijn krachten” zal blijven verdedigen. Hij noemde in een toespraak voor aanhangers leden van de oppositie “verraders” en “bandieten” en waarschuwde hen niet langer “met vuur te spelen”.

In het oosten van Jemen werden vanmiddag vijf soldaten gedood bij een aanval van militanten. De Jemenitische regering beschuldigt Al-Qaeda van de aanval, die plaatsvond vlakbij de stad Marib (kaart). Volgens een woordvoerder van de lokale autoriteiten reed het legervoertuig met de vijf gedode soldaten in een hinderlaag van de militanten.

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Op woensdag 18 mei 2011 16:35 schreef Glennpo het volgende:
atoombom erop

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Late hitch stalls signing of Yemen crisis pact

_{By Jamal al-Jaberi (AFP) – 3 hours ago}

SANAA — An aide to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Yemen's political rivals have agreed to sign on Wednesday a Gulf-brokered plan to end bloody unrest, but the opposition expressed doubts about the deal.

Asked on Al-Arabiya television news network whether the agreement would be signed on Wednesday, Ahmed al-Sufi said: "Yes, it will be today" following "positive" and "important progress."

But parliamentary opposition spokesman Mohammed Qahtan said Saleh had backed out of signing the accord after a break in the impasse between the two sides had been reached on Tuesday night.

"If the initiative was unchanged" from its initial version, "we will sign," Qahtan said.

"We came to an agreement late Tuesday but this morning they changed their minds," Qahtan told AFP, adding Saleh and his partisans "refuse" to sign it this way.

"The disagreement is on who will sign from the opposition," said Qahtan. However, "there's an agreement on the timeframe."

On the ground, most of Yemen's cities observed a complete strike on Wednesday morning as police fired shots into the the air in the town of Huta, in southern Lahij province, and in the Red Sea city of Al-Hudaydah, witnesses said.

Massive protests took place in Taez and Ibb, south of Sanaa, and Al-Hudaydah, witnesses said.

In Huta, where protesters blocked roads, residents said police fired into the air.

Yemen's southern cities of Aden, Lahij and Shabwa also went on strike Wednesday, according to residents there.

The impoverished but strategic Arabian Peninsula country has been gripped by protests since late January calling for the ouster of Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.

Security forces launched a deadly crackdown the protests, leaving at least 180 people dead, according to a toll compiled from reports by activists and medics.

Besides an Al-Qaeda resurgence, Yemen is battling a secessionist movement in the south and a Shiite rebellion in the north.

Saleh insists that, under the constitution, he should serve out his current term of office, which expires in 2013. Last Thursday, however, Washington called on him to sign the deal "now."

For weeks, the agreement has been held up by Saleh refusing to sign in his capacity as president. He has insisted on endorsing the deal only as leader of the ruling General People's Congress, contrary to the opposition's demands.

Talks are ongoing, said Qahtan, adding the opposition would meet Abdullatif al-Zayani, the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, later on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the spokesman for Saleh's party, Tareq al-Shami, had told AFP: "We have discussed with.... Zayani the mechanism to implement a plan to end the crisis."

"This plan needs a time frame to implement it," said Shami.

On Friday, Qahtan declared the Gulf initiative was "dead" following the pullout of Qatar, whose prime minister had angered Sanaa by saying Saleh should go.

But Zayani returned to Sanaa on Saturday in an attempt to convince both sides to sign the initiative.

The six GCC states have proposed an exit plan that would see Saleh out of office within 30 days.

Under it, a government of national unity would be formed, Saleh would transfer power to his vice president and there would be an end to protests. In exchange, Saleh and his top aides would be granted immunity from prosecution.

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President Jemen wil vervroegde verkiezingen

De president van Jemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, heeft vandaag voor duizenden aanhangers gezegd dat hij vervroegde presidentsverkiezingen wil om de politieke crisis van vier maanden in zijn land te beëindigen.

“We roepen op tot een spoedige democratisch presidentsverkiezing om bloedvergieten te voorkomen”, zei de Jemenitische president, zonder een datum te noemen.

Volgens Midden-Oosten redacteur Carolien Roelants is het een nieuwe poging van Saleh tot uitstel van zijn vertrek. Saleh heeft tenslotte niet gezegd dat hij niet mee zal doen bij de verkiezingen, aldus Roelants.

Sommige hooggeplaatste leiders van zijn partij maakten gisteren bekend dat zondag een overeenkomst opgesteld door de oppositie wordt ondertekend waar het vertrek van Saleh binnen dertig dagen is opgenomen. Eerder beloofde Saleh al zich niet kandidaat te stellen bij de presidentsverkiezingen in 2013.

Volgens cijfers uit medische bronnen, waar persbureau AFP over beschikt, zijn sinds januari 180 mensen gedood bij de protesten tegen Saleh.

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Yemen: US, top ambassadors held captive

SANAA, Yemen — A mob of gunmen loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh for hours trapped the American, British and European Union ambassadors, as well as the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, inside a diplomatic compound here on Sunday.

Eventually the top diplomats were evacuated by helicopter, according to local reports.

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Op zondag 17 april 2011 23:35 schreef Ulpianus het volgende:
Mijn vraag is hoe de Soennieten en Shi'iten tegenover elkaar staan?

De regio is redelijk anti Shi'itisch maar de stroming daar lijkt van alle Shi'itische stromingen dan wel weer het meest op Soennisme van allemaal.
Ik vroeg me af of de post Saleh regering autoriteit zou hebben over beide groepen. En of er uberhaupt dialoog mogelijk is tussen de twee groepen.

Ik kan me namelijk goed voor stellen dat er gewoon weer een Soennitische leider komt die het heel moeilijk maakt voor Shi'iten om hogerop te komen. Dit om goeie relatie te houden met USA en SA.

Ik zie nu dat Saleh Shi'itisch is. Interessant.

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Yemeni soldiers clash with tribal leader's guards in Sana'a

• Fighting rocks capital after succession deal collapses
• Doctors report more than 60 wounded and 10 dead

Gun battles erupted across the capital of Yemen on Monday as security forces clashed with fighters from the country's most powerful tribe amid rising fears that a breakdown in political negotiations aimed at easing President Ali Abdullah Saleh from power could lead to civil war.

The fighting was the fiercest yet between the pro- and anti-Saleh camps and came a day after Saleh backed away from a promise to sign an Arab-brokered deal that would end his 33 years in power. Regional leaders abandoned their efforts at mediating a solution to Yemen's political impasse on Sunday.

Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have been protesting since February demanding Saleh's removal, and they have suffered from a bloody crackdown – but before Monday there had been only minor armed clashes between the two sides.

The violence erupted outside the Sana'a residence of Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar, leader of Yemen's largest tribe, the Hashid. Saleh himself belongs the tribe, but Ahmar announced in March that the Hashid were joining the popular uprising against the president.

Local residents reporting seeing hundreds of government security forces setting up roadblocks around Ahmar's residence before pounding it with machine guns and rocket propelled grenade. Ahmar's guards returned fire with Kalashnikovs and an ensuing gun battle raged on throughout the afternoon.

The area was cordoned off by security forces making it difficult to establish an exact number of casualties but a doctor working in the nearby al-Kuwait hospital said that more than 60 people, both tribesmen and soldiers, were being treated for bullet wounds and that at least 10 soldiers had died.

Stray missiles hit a nearby Yemenia Airlines headquarters, setting parts of it on fire, while hundreds of journalists were trapped in the basement of the state Saba news agency adjacent to Ahmar's residence. Marawan Damag, head of the Journalists Syndicate, said that one journalist had been shot in the leg but that crossfire made it impossible to take the wounded man to the hospital.

As the violence flared, convoys of armed tribesman in SUVs could be seen whizzing through the streets towards the area where the fighting was taking place.

By mid-afternoon the violence had spread across Sana'a. Plainclothed men carrying Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades could be seen scaling the walls of government buildings as plumes of smoke rose from above the ministry of interior and Saleh's party headquarters.

A government official from Yemen's embassy in Washington said "armed mobs loyal to the al-Ahmar family had fired two anti-aircraft missiles at the ministry of the interior."

He added: "Today's actions show the ill intentions of the al-Ahmar family who have been bankrolling the opposition movement and are now using heavy artillery to attack government buildings.

The Yemeni opposition accused the security forces of trying to "storm" the Ahmar's house and it warned of "assaults that aim to drag the country into civil war".

The violence erupted amid heightened tensions following Saleh's refusal to sign a US-backed, Gulf Arab-mediated agreement under which he would step down in 30 days and hand over power to his vice president and a unity government in return for immunity from any future prosecution.

On Sunday night, pro-government gunmen and soldiers locked down main streets around the capital with roadblocks, while tens of thousands of anti-Saleh demonstrators were massed at their protest camp in a central Sana'a square, worried that a new crackdown could ensue.

The situation in Yemen is particularly explosive because of the heavy weaponry available to both sides. Saleh's regime has been bled dry by a wave of defections by party officials, tribes and – most importantly – major units from the national army.

Saleh has been able to cling to power, however, by maintaining the loyalty of Yemen's best-trained and equipped military and security units, which are headed by close family members.

Those security forces have occasionally unleashed bloody attacks on the crowds of protesters holding street demonstrations demanding Saleh's removal. The opposition says 150 protesters have been killed during the uprising. But the pro-opposition military units and tribal fighters have avoided fighting with Saleh's security forces, except for scattered minor clashes.

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Civil war looms as dozens killed in Yemen capital

(Reuters) - Dozens of Yemenis were killed in overnight gun battles in the capital, government officials said on Thursday, as fighting aimed at ending President Ali Abdullah Saleh's three-decade-long rule threatened to ignite civil war.