Affrontements à Ibb – 6 mars 2011

Affrontements au Yémen

Europe1.fr avec Reuters

6 mars 2011

Des partisans du président yéménite Ali Abdallah Saleh ont attaqué dimanche un campement d’opposants à Ibb, une ville au sud de Sanaa, ont déclaré des témoins et un chef de file des contestataires.

« Des groupes envoyés par le parti au pouvoir ont attaqué le siège des manifestants à coups de pierres et de bâtons et 25 personnes ont été blessées, dont six sont dans un état critique », a déclaré un responsable des manifestants.

Clashes, gunfire erupt at protest

Reuters

The US warned citizens in Yemen yesterday to consider departing as protests seeking the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh gather momentum, saying the security risk in the country was extremely high.

Tens of thousands of protesters have camped out in major Yemeni cities, their tone hardening daily, and protests turned to clashes in the town of Ibb yesterday when government loyalists attacked demonstrators with sticks and stones.

Violence also flared in outlying provinces, where six security men were killed in attacks blamed on Al Qaeda.
“The Department (of State) urges US citizens not to travel to Yemen. US citizens currently in Yemen should consider departing,” the US State Department said in a travel warning.

“The security threat level in Yemen is extremely high due to terrorist activities and civil unrest,” it added.
Britain has also warned against travel, advising those without a pressing need to stay to leave by commercial flights.

The growing Yemeni protests, and a series of defections from Saleh’s allies, have added pressure on Saleh to end his three-decade rule in the state. But neither side appears willing to compromise to end the deadlock.

Protesters want Saleh to step down by the end of this year, if not sooner, while the president is sticking to an earlier pledge to leave office only when his current term ends in 2013.. Read more..