Yemen rebels almost killed Ali Abdullah Saleh

[K. A. Pital]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13638787

The president of Yemen has been hurt in an attack on a mosque in his compound in the capital Sanaa, as fighting continues between the government and armed tribes.

In an audio message hours later, Ali Abdullah Saleh said he was well and blamed tribal opponents for the attack.

The PM and speaker of parliament were hurt and seven people killed.

Earlier troops shelled the home of the brother of the tribal leader whose supporters they are fighting.

Thousands meanwhile attended a funeral for 50 people killed in the violence, and there were huge demonstrations after Friday prayers.

In the southern city of Taiz, at least three members of the security forces and two protesters were killed in clashes, officials and doctors said.

It was not clear if the security forces were soldiers or police. One report said they had been killed by a rocket-propelled grenade.

A crackdown on protesters in Taiz on Sunday left more than 50 demonstrators dead.

The US White House condemned the recent bloodshed, including the attack on the presidential palace.

"Violence cannot resolve the issues that confront Yemen, and today's events cannot be a justification for a new round of fighting," spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

More than 350 people have been killed since the uprising started in January, but at least 135 of them have died in the past 10 days.
'Scratches'

There has been heavy fighting in the northern Sanaa district of Hassaba since last week between Mr Saleh's forces and tribesman loyal to Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, the head of the powerful Hashid tribal confederation.

Explosions were heard in the south of the capital for the first time.

Witnesses said the army had shelled the home of his brother Sheikh Hamid al-Ahmar, a leader of the opposition Islah party, in the Hadda district.

Later, at least two shells hit a mosque in the presidential palace compound.

Mr Saleh was injured and received treatment in a military hospital.
Smoke rises from Sanaa (2 June 2011) A truce agreed last week collapsed after four days, with each side blaming the other

State TV later broadcast an audio message in which he urged the military to fight Sheikh Ahmar's tribal group.

"I salute our armed forces and the security forces for standing up firmly to confront this challenge by an outlaw gang that has nothing to do with the so-called youth revolution," he said.

"Seven officers were martyred. We will follow these culprits sooner or later in co-operation with all security services."

Correspondents say Mr Saleh spoke with a laboured voice, at times breathing heavily.

Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar, speaker of parliament Yahya al-Rai and several other officials were also wounded.

Al-Arabiya TV reported that Mr Rai was in a critical condition.

Ruling party spokesman Tariq al-Shami told AFP news agency the tribesmen were to blame.

"The Ahmar [tribe] have crossed all the red lines," he added.

However, the office of Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar denied responsibility for the attack on the palace. This contradicted an earlier claim made by Sheikh Ahmar's spokesman that the attack had been retaliatory.

Earlier, troops set fire to the headquarters of Suhail TV, while state TV showed pictures of the burning offices of national airline Yemenia, blaming it on the tribesmen.

Western and regional powers have been urging Mr Saleh to sign a Gulf Co-operation Council-brokered deal that would see him hand over to his deputy in return for an amnesty from prosecution.

He has agreed to sign on several occasions, but then backed out.

The US has sent an envoy to the Gulf to discuss ways of stopping the violence.

Now that's what I call rebellion, heh. Rebels seeking to overthrow a government should kill government officials and leaders. Not blow up civilians in terrorist attacks. It seems there's an endgame for Saleh in the making.

The US White House condemned the recent bloodshed, including the attack on the presidential palace.

Hey, I thought government officials were legitimate targets! Look at Gaddafi!

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

It's not so much a rebellion but a family feud between the Ahmars and Saleh. We have a tribal war now, with the legitimate protestors caught in between.

[K. A. Pital]

In any case killing political leaders is the correct thing to do - even if you're fighting a war. They're legitimate targets.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

In any case killing political leaders is the correct thing to do - even if you're fighting a war. They're legitimate targets.

The Ahmars don't sound any better though. They are part of the hierachy that pervades the crap that goes on in Yemen.

[White Haven]

The point Stas is trying to make is that it isn't who's better or worse. It's that the people making the decisions are the people on the firing line, so if their decisions are shitty, they, themselves can suffer for it, rather than everyone else suffering for them. That works a lot better in theory than in practice, of course, but the same can be said for many good ideas.

[K. A. Pital]

Exactly. My point is that there are legitimate targets for terrorists. In fact, the perjorative connotation of "terrorist" is a product of the recent years (latter half of the XX century) when terrorists turned to mass killings of civilians as a tactic.

Late XIX - early XX century terrorists often targeted government officials, government buildings, jails, sometimes they went great lengths to kill a person responsible for certain acts. This pattern is observed in colonial India, Russia, Eastern Europe, Ireland, etc.

Nowadays a big problem is the idea that you can target anyone, as opposed to targeting people who are legitimate targets or would be legitimate targets in any military conflict (and most insurgents or "terrorists" as they get universally brushed now, treat their actions as a sort of war).

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Exactly. My point is that there are legitimate targets for terrorists. In fact, the perjorative connotation of "terrorist" is a product of the recent years (latter half of the XX century) when terrorists turned to mass killings of civilians as a tactic.

Late XIX - early XX century terrorists often targeted government officials, government buildings, jails, sometimes they went great lengths to kill a person responsible for certain acts. This pattern is observed in colonial India, Russia, Eastern Europe, Ireland, etc.

Nowadays a big problem is the idea that you can target anyone, as opposed to targeting people who are legitimate targets or would be legitimate targets in any military conflict (and most insurgents or "terrorists" as they get universally brushed now, treat their actions as a sort of war).

Well, I won't argue with that.

However, the current situation begs that no one family or tribe gets too much power over Yemen again. Otherwise, we would be back to square one like a decade or so later.

[K. A. Pital]

Well, I won't argue with that.

However, the current situation begs that no one family or tribe gets too much power over Yemen again. Otherwise, we would be back to square one like a decade or so later.

Maybe in this case NATO and the US should have interevened in Yemen too.

[Sea Skimmer]

Victory near? Saleh has left the country for Saudi Arabia to seek medical treatment. Supposedly he has a fragment in his chest near his heart and they don’t trust anyone in Yemen to take it out. Medical care in the country is pretty damn bad. A number of top government officials were also killed or wounded including the heads of the legislature and some are with him in Saudi for the same reasons. A little different blast placement and the whole top of the government would have been decapitated.

Yemeni president arrives in Saudi, refuses to quit
By blade
Created 05/06/2011 - 04:06
Yemen's beleaguered President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounded in the shelling of his compound in the capital Sanaa, arrived in Riyadh for treatment but has not stood down, a Saudi official said.
"President Saleh has arrived in Riyadh for treatment, but he will return to Yemen," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
In Sanaa, a presidential palace source confirmed his departure but refused to say any more.
Under Yemen's constitution, Saleh will be replaced during his absence by Deputy President Abdel Rabbo Mansur Hadi.
Saleh has refused to give up the power he has held for nearly 33 years despite four months of angry and violent protests against his rule.
He notably refused to sign a plan worked out by the Gulf Arab monarchies, headed by Saudi Arabia, for a peaceful transfer of power.
Saleh, 69, arrived aboard a Saudi medical aircraft while a second plane carried members of his family, the Saudi official said.
His eldest son Ahmad, commander of the elite Republican Guard, remained in Yemen. The opposition says Ahmad was preparing to take over from his father before the popular uprising started.
Saleh was immediately taken to the Saudi capital's military hospital, the official said.
Saleh was wounded on Friday when a shell hit the presidential palace's mosque during prayers, killing 11 and wounding 124 people, according to a government official.
In an audio statement broadcast on state television late Friday as he was being treated at the defence ministry hospital in Sanaa, Saleh said he was "well, in good health."
The embattled leader suffered "burns and scratches to the face and chest," an official said after the ruling General People's Congress said he was "lightly wounded in the back of the head."
His regime has blamed the attack on powerful dissident tribal leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, whose fighters have been battling government forces in the Yemeni capital since a truce crumbled on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mujawar and four other senior Yemeni officials wounded in the shelling of the presidential compound were also transferred to Saudi Arabia for treatment, Yemen's state news agency Saba reported.
A precarious calm meanwhile returned to Yemen's capital on Saturday as Saleh vowed to hit back after the mosque attack and a top general defected to the opposition.
Sporadic shelling and rocket fire rattled Al-Hassaba district of northern Sanaa where Ahmar has his base, witnesses said.
The clashes left one person killed and dozens wounded, a medical official said before the fighting subsided later.
A source close to Sheikh Sadiq said the powerful tribal chief was "committed to a ceasefire based on mediation efforts led by Saudi King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz despite the continuous shelling" by Saleh forces.
Saleh, in power in Sanaa since 1978, hit out in his broadcast at "the sons of Al-Ahmar" -- Sheikh Sadiq and his brothers -- and urged "the security forces to purge state institutions of these gangs."
Washington condemned the violence, including the palace attack, and called for Saleh to transfer power.
Russia expressed its concern at the "terrible civil war" in Yemen and urged the leadership to accept a Gulf Cooperation Council-sponsored plan for him to step down in return for immunity.
The parliamentary opposition on Saturday called for an "immediate" ceasefire and condemned "the dangerous twist which the clashes have taken in targeting the homes of citizens, the presidential palace, and vital installations."
After Saleh last month refused to sign the GCC deal, opposition tribesmen seized public buildings in Sanaa, sparking clashes with Saleh forces.
Amid the latest escalation, the European Union activated a mechanism to evacuate its citizens, and Germany ordered the closure of its embassy.
After Friday's presidential compound attack, Yemeni troops shelled the home of Sheikh Hamid, a brother of Sheikh Sadiq, in apparent retaliation.
Shelling in Hada neighbourhood also targeted the homes of two other Ahmar brothers, Hemyar and Mizhij, and that of dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.
The attack on Sheikh Hamid's home killed 10 people and wounded 35, his office said.
More than 70 people have now been confirmed killed in the fighting in Sanaa since a fragile four-day truce collapsed between Ahmar tribesmen and Saleh loyalists.
In the flashpoint city of Taez, the commander of the 33rd armoured division, General Yahya al-Hashidi, joined protesters calling for Saleh to quit, a military official told AFP.
Hashidi's division controls Yemen's southwest which includes the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the strategic entrance to the Indian Ocean from the Red Sea.
Nationwide, more than 200 demonstrators have been killed since the anti-Saleh protests erupted, according to an AFP tally based on reports from medics and rights activists.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110605-yem ... fuses-quit

In the more speculative arena… Some people are saying now that this wasn’t a rocket or mortar attack at all as has been officially reported, some think it was a planted bomb and if so then almost certainly an inside job to try to dispose of him. Some photos released of the damage including the one in the link above support this; you can see blast marks and lots of debris but no sign of impact point or entry holes in the walls or roof; though its possible a low angle RPG could have come through an open window. Mortar or long range rocket fire could not; but then none of these weapons are very plausible for such a near precision hit unless the shooter was inside 150 yards… seems unlikely given that it’s a wall compound.

[cosmicalstorm]

I also thought it was strange that someone would be able to hit him with an RPG with that kind of precision over such a distance.

[Sea Skimmer]

So it turns out Saleh is indeed very critically injured.Burns on 40% of the body, the fragment removed was ‘almost’ 3 inches long and he’s still bleeding in his brain. So even with good medical care this guy could very well still die, and its impossible to see him returning to Yemen in less then several weeks, and even if all went well, he couldn't be back in powder in any meaningful way for a couple months. The article also repeats reports of it having been a bomb.

I’m not reposting the article because it’s a bitch and a half to try to copy and I give up on it.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43306665/ns ... _n_africa/#