Violent protests across Yemen, 3 soldiers dead

reuters.com

Mon Mar 14, 2011

* 3 soldiers killed in province bordering Saudi Arabia

* Explosion damages pipeline in oil, gas producing province

* Austrian oil firm OMV stops oil transports by trucks

* Authorities deport 4 Westerners, 3 of them journalists

(Adds explosion damages oil pipeline)

By Mohammed Ghobari and Mohamed Sudam

SANAA, March 14 (Reuters) – Scattered clashes broke out across Yemen on Monday, with three soldiers killed in the north, as military forces were deployed to check nationwide protests demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state has been rocked by weeks of demonstrations that have undermined Saleh’s 32-year grip on power, with both pro- and anti-government supporters appearing to resort increasingly to violence in the struggle.

Seven demonstrators and three soldiers have died in clashes since Saturday, raising the death toll from unrest above 30.

The United States, which has long seen Saleh as a bulwark against a dynamic al Qaeda wing based in Yemen, has condemned the bloodshed and backed the right for peaceful protest, but has insisted only dialogue can end the political crisis.

Two soldiers and an officer were killed as clashes broke out in the northern al-Jawf province, which borders oil giant Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s state news agency Saba said.

Fighting intensified after protesters stormed a municipal building. Security forces fired on them, wounding 10, but could not stop them seizing the building, a local official said. Read more…

(Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden; Writing by Erika Solomon; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Ralph Boulton)

Gunfire, army deployment as tensions rise in Yemen

indiatimes.com

Mar 15, 2011

SANAA: Heavy gunfire was heard south of theYemen capital on Monday and soldiers deployed in force in Sanaa itself, with a new wave of rallies reported across the country demanding that President Ali Abdullah Saleh quit.

The impoverished Arabian Peninsula state has been shaken by weeks of protests that have undermined Saleh’s 32-year grip on power, with the president appearing increasingly willing to deal more violently with his many opponents.

Seven demonstrators have died in clashes since Saturday, raising the death toll from the unrest to above 30.

« There’s heavy gunfire here, we can’t tell about casualties yet, » activist Bushra al-Maqtari told Reuters by telephone from Taiz, which is 200 km south of Sanaa and one of the biggest sites of anti-Saleh rallies. Read more…

At Least 30 Injured From Live Fire In Yemen Protests

rferl.org

Medics carry an injured antigovernment protester into a makeshift clinic in Sanaa on March 13.

March 14, 2011

At least 30 people were injured when police opened fire on protesters today in eastern Yemen.

Protesters in the eastern Marib Province were reportedly fired on as they headed toward the governor’s headquarters to demand an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 32-year rule.

Police also shot live ammunition at protesters in northeastern Jawf Province. Read more…

Provincial Governor Stabbed During Clash in Yemen

nytimes.com

By LAURA KASINOF

March 14, 2011

A Yemeni provincial governor was stabbed in a melee with antigovernment protesters on Monday, the official news agency Saba reported. Local reports said the stabbing occurred after the governor’s bodyguards opened fire on the protesters, injuring dozens.

The clash was the most violent of several reported around Yemen in the widening uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In a sign that the government was ratcheting up its efforts to control news coverage of the unrest, four Western journalists said they were seized in an armed raid on their apartment in the Yemeni capital early Monday and expelled from the country.

The injured governor, Naji al-Zaidi of tribal-dominated Marib Province, was taken to the capital, Sana, and hospitalized.

In Al Jawf, a desperately poor northern province also dominated by tribes, local reports said that security forces open fire, injuring about 15 protesters. Read More…

~ par Alain Bertho sur 15 mars 2011.

Publié dans émeutes, riots, الشغب