Affrontements à Sanaa et Taez : cinq morts – 5 avril 2011

Yémen: au moins cinq morts à Sanaa lors de violentes confrontations

romandie.com

5 04 2011

De nouvelles violences ont fait au moins cinq morts mardi dans la capitale yéménite Sanaa. Le président Ali Abdallah Saleh, qui a perdu l’appui de Washington, fait face à une pression croissante pour abandonner le pouvoir.

Les affrontements meurtriers à Sanaa sont survenus près de « la place du Changement », épicentre de la contestation, a déclaré un responsable des services de sécurité. Selon une source militaire, deux des victimes sont des soldats fidèles au général Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, qui a rallié l’opposition.

Les trois autres sont des membres de tribus qui, selon l’agence officielle Saba, ont cherché à « rencontrer le général Ali Mohsen Saleh pour le convaincre de revenir sur sa décision de rallier l’opposition ».

A Taëz, au sud de Sanaa, des dizaines de manifestants ont été blessés par balles mardi dans des affrontements avec des partisans du régime, ont indiqué des témoins. Et des centaines de personnes indisposées par l’inhalation de gaz lacrymogènes ont été admises à l’hôpital. Lire la suite…

Yemen protests: fresh clashes in Taiz

guardian.co.uk

5 04 2011

Tens of thousands demonstrate against President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the southern town a day after 15 people were killed

Fresh clashes have broken out in Taiz in southern Yemen as security forces and armed men in civilian clothes fired on protesters a day after 15 people were killed.

Witnesses told Reuters that several people had been hurt after hundreds of troops attacked tens of thousands of demonstrators. Men believed to be plainclothes police wielded bats and daggers as protesters responded by throwing rocks.

Al-Jazeera reported that hundreds of protesters were wounded in the clashes, with dozens taken to hospital in the capital, Sana’a, 120 miles away.

Amid continuing violence against the 32-year rule of the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Gulf Co-operation Council, the regional security group, invited government and opposition representatives to talks in Saudi Arabia, at a date yet to be set. Abubakr al-Qirbi, the acting foreign minister after Saleh sacked his government two weeks ago, said the government would agree to talks in Riyadh. « We welcome the GCC invitation and the government is ready to discuss any ideas from our Gulf brothers to solve the crisis, » Qirbi said.

Leaders from core political opposition groups, however, said they would only answer when they received details of the proposed talks. Amid mounting diplomatic efforts to end the turmoil that has engulfed Yemen since February, US officials said Washington was increasing the pressure on Saleh to work out a transition plan with the opposition.

« It looks increasingly like he needs to step aside, » one US official told Reuters, saying the US was trying to « turn up the heat » on Saleh to come to terms with the opposition. Read more…