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BBC MUNDO RADIO
Death toll hits 76 as violence rocks Yemen’s capital for third day
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
An anti-government protester displays a blood-stained hand
after carrying a wounded fellow protester after clashes with security
forces in Sana'a. (Photo by Reuters)
Gunfire and shelling rocked Sanaa for a third day Tuesday,
killing 23 people and taking the toll from the worst outbreak of
violence in the Yemeni capital in months to 76 before a tenuous truce
took hold.
Fighting between dissident troops and those loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh resumed at dawn after a brief lull overnight and raged through the day before receding in the evening, medics and witnesses said.
“Four civilians and three soldiers from the First Armored Brigade were killed,” a medical official said, referring to dissident troops led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, according to AFP.
A brief lull that lasted only a few hours during the night was followed by fierce battles involving automatic gunfire and shelling, witnesses said.
Fighting between dissident troops and those loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh resumed at dawn after a brief lull overnight and raged through the day before receding in the evening, medics and witnesses said.
“Four civilians and three soldiers from the First Armored Brigade were killed,” a medical official said, referring to dissident troops led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, according to AFP.
A brief lull that lasted only a few hours during the night was followed by fierce battles involving automatic gunfire and shelling, witnesses said.
Republican Guard troops,
commanded by Saleh’s son Ahmed, shelled posts held by Ahmar’s troops
around Change Square, epicenter of the anti-regime protests that have
shaken Yemen for months, witnesses said.
They added that the shelling was coming from Hada district in southern Sana’a.
The protesters, camped at Sana’a Change Square and nearby al-Zubairi Road, spoke of fierce fighting between the rival military forces.
Change Square was targeted by mortar rounds and anti-aircraft fire, with one witness describing it as the “heaviest shelling” yet and saying it “lit the sky over the square.”
Protest organizers told AFP the numbers of demonstrators camped in an area stretching about three kilometers (two miles) from Change Square to al-Zubairi Road had swelled to nearly 150,000. Their figures could not immediately be verified.
A shell hit al-Iman University near the square killing one and wounding three others, said university spokesman Ayed al-Zindani.
Mortar rounds also fell near the field hospital set up at Change Square in which six people were wounded, said activist Walid al-Amari.
Ahmar’s troops and members of the protesters’ security committee deployed heavily in the area surrounding the square and set up checkpoints at its entrances, witnesses said.
Private schools, banks and governments buildings surrounding the square and in nearby neighborhoods were shut, they added.
They added that the shelling was coming from Hada district in southern Sana’a.
The protesters, camped at Sana’a Change Square and nearby al-Zubairi Road, spoke of fierce fighting between the rival military forces.
Change Square was targeted by mortar rounds and anti-aircraft fire, with one witness describing it as the “heaviest shelling” yet and saying it “lit the sky over the square.”
Protest organizers told AFP the numbers of demonstrators camped in an area stretching about three kilometers (two miles) from Change Square to al-Zubairi Road had swelled to nearly 150,000. Their figures could not immediately be verified.
A shell hit al-Iman University near the square killing one and wounding three others, said university spokesman Ayed al-Zindani.
Mortar rounds also fell near the field hospital set up at Change Square in which six people were wounded, said activist Walid al-Amari.
Ahmar’s troops and members of the protesters’ security committee deployed heavily in the area surrounding the square and set up checkpoints at its entrances, witnesses said.
Private schools, banks and governments buildings surrounding the square and in nearby neighborhoods were shut, they added.
Saudi monarch receives Saleh
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz during his meeting with President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Meanwhile, Saudi King Abdullah bin
Abdul Aziz received President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen at the royal
palace in Riyadh, the official SPA reported.
President Saleh thanked the Saudi monarch for the care given to him and to a number of Yemen's senior leaders while they were receiving treatment at Saudi hospitals. President Saleh also appreciated the Kingdom’s stance supporting Yemen in light of the current crisis as well as the efforts exerted to overcome the crisis and achieve national interest for the Yemeni people.
King Abdullah wished all success for the Yemenis in overcoming the current crisis, stressing the Kingdom’s stance supporting a unified, safe and stable Yemen, SPA reported.
President Saleh thanked the Saudi monarch for the care given to him and to a number of Yemen's senior leaders while they were receiving treatment at Saudi hospitals. President Saleh also appreciated the Kingdom’s stance supporting Yemen in light of the current crisis as well as the efforts exerted to overcome the crisis and achieve national interest for the Yemeni people.
King Abdullah wished all success for the Yemenis in overcoming the current crisis, stressing the Kingdom’s stance supporting a unified, safe and stable Yemen, SPA reported.
Two days of violence
At least 56 people were killed on
Sunday and Monday, said doctors and witnesses, after demonstrators
demanding an end to Saleh’s 33-year rule ratcheted up their protests.
Government forces responded to the demonstrations with heavy fire, while snipers shot at activists from rooftops, Reuters journalists said.
The violence escalated on Monday when opposition forces loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen started fighting with government troops. Mohsen, a top Yemeni general, dealt a major blow to Saleh’s regime when he and his troops defected following an earlier crackdown in March which killed 52 people.
A witness close to the camp said Yemen’s Republican Guard forces had taken up a position on a mountain and started shelling Mohsen’s First Armored Division base in the city on Tuesday. The protest camp may have been hit by stray shells, the witness added.
Diplomats who have struggled for months to help the opposition and government reach a political deal have long feared the rising tensions in the capital of this impoverished Arabian Peninsula state could deteriorate into a full military confrontation in Sana’a.
Many of the protesters had retreated to the Change Square camp on Monday, escaping violence in another area.
Diplomats and Yemeni politicians scrambled on Monday to speed up a long-stalled transition plan under which Saleh, who is recovering in neighboring Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, would step down.
A source in Yemen’s political opposition said they were meeting with government officials and diplomats to try and push through a deal. U.N. mediator Jamal bin Omar and Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdbullatif al-Zayani arrived in Sana’a on Monday and were expected to join the talks.
Zayani was expected to push for the signing of a Gulf-brokered transition plan which Saleh backed out of three times before.
“There’s a possibility of trying to push through the Gulf plan for signing this week,” an opposition source said.
Protesters vowed to march again on Tuesday to condemn the crackdown and lack of international response.
Several countries including the United States condemned the violence but gave little indication of how they planned to exert pressure on Saleh.
“The United States regrets the deaths and injuries of many people during protest marches in Sana’a yesterday. In this tense situation, we call upon all parties to exercise restraint,” the U.S. embassy in Sana’a said on Monday.
Government forces responded to the demonstrations with heavy fire, while snipers shot at activists from rooftops, Reuters journalists said.
The violence escalated on Monday when opposition forces loyal to defected General Ali Mohsen started fighting with government troops. Mohsen, a top Yemeni general, dealt a major blow to Saleh’s regime when he and his troops defected following an earlier crackdown in March which killed 52 people.
A witness close to the camp said Yemen’s Republican Guard forces had taken up a position on a mountain and started shelling Mohsen’s First Armored Division base in the city on Tuesday. The protest camp may have been hit by stray shells, the witness added.
Diplomats who have struggled for months to help the opposition and government reach a political deal have long feared the rising tensions in the capital of this impoverished Arabian Peninsula state could deteriorate into a full military confrontation in Sana’a.
Many of the protesters had retreated to the Change Square camp on Monday, escaping violence in another area.
Diplomats and Yemeni politicians scrambled on Monday to speed up a long-stalled transition plan under which Saleh, who is recovering in neighboring Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, would step down.
A source in Yemen’s political opposition said they were meeting with government officials and diplomats to try and push through a deal. U.N. mediator Jamal bin Omar and Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Abdbullatif al-Zayani arrived in Sana’a on Monday and were expected to join the talks.
Zayani was expected to push for the signing of a Gulf-brokered transition plan which Saleh backed out of three times before.
“There’s a possibility of trying to push through the Gulf plan for signing this week,” an opposition source said.
Protesters vowed to march again on Tuesday to condemn the crackdown and lack of international response.
Several countries including the United States condemned the violence but gave little indication of how they planned to exert pressure on Saleh.
“The United States regrets the deaths and injuries of many people during protest marches in Sana’a yesterday. In this tense situation, we call upon all parties to exercise restraint,” the U.S. embassy in Sana’a said on Monday.
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