Attack on Saleh adds to unrest in Yemen
Source: Agencies |
June 5, 2011, Sunday
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THOUSANDS fled Sanaa yesterday a day after President Ali Abdullah Saleh was wounded in an attack on his compound.
Saleh's forces retaliated by shelling the homes of the leaders of a powerful tribal federation fighting an urban battle to oust Saleh.
Five top members of the government were sent to Saudi Arabia by air in the early hours yesterday for treatment of wounds they suffered in a rebel rocket attack on the presidential palace, the official government news agency reported.
As for Saleh's injuries, Deputy Information Minister Abdu al-Janadi spoke of only "scratches to his face." But there were indications the injuries may have been more severe.
Hisham Sharaf, minister of trade and industry, said he met with Saleh Friday night and that the president remained defiant in the face of escalating violence.
Months of peaceful demonstrations to oust the regime have become a raging military conflict in the capital and elsewhere.
"He was in very high morale. The strike that doesn't break you makes you stronger. The strike made him more adamant that he won't handover the country until he is sure it will be safe and clear of militias," Sharaf said.
He said he spoke with Saleh at a military hospital Friday night where he was treated for minor wounds before returning to the presidential palace.
Tribal and medical officials said, meanwhile, that 10 tribesmen were killed and 35 injured in overnight fighting in the Hassaba neighborhood, headquarters of opposition Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar.
A tribal leader said street fighting lasted until dawn. Many of the compound's buildings and surrounding houses have already been heavily damaged by days of bombardment.
Since violence erupted in the city on May 23, residents have been hiding in basements as the two sides fight for control of government ministries and hammer one another in artillery duels and gunbattles, rattling neighborhoods and sending palls of smoke over the city.
The clashes have killed nearly 200 people over the last two weeks and turned areas of Sanaa into ghost towns after residents fled for safety.
Seven guards were killed in the rebel strike on the mosque in the presidential palace compound where Saleh and the other officials were at prayer.
The bold assault directly on the president is likely to heighten what has been an increasingly brutal fight between Saleh's forces and the heavily armed tribesmen loyal to al-Ahmar.
The bloodshed comes as nearly four months of protests and international diplomacy have failed to oust Yemen's leader of 33 years.
Saleh's forces retaliated by shelling the homes of the leaders of a powerful tribal federation fighting an urban battle to oust Saleh.
Five top members of the government were sent to Saudi Arabia by air in the early hours yesterday for treatment of wounds they suffered in a rebel rocket attack on the presidential palace, the official government news agency reported.
As for Saleh's injuries, Deputy Information Minister Abdu al-Janadi spoke of only "scratches to his face." But there were indications the injuries may have been more severe.
Hisham Sharaf, minister of trade and industry, said he met with Saleh Friday night and that the president remained defiant in the face of escalating violence.
Months of peaceful demonstrations to oust the regime have become a raging military conflict in the capital and elsewhere.
"He was in very high morale. The strike that doesn't break you makes you stronger. The strike made him more adamant that he won't handover the country until he is sure it will be safe and clear of militias," Sharaf said.
He said he spoke with Saleh at a military hospital Friday night where he was treated for minor wounds before returning to the presidential palace.
Tribal and medical officials said, meanwhile, that 10 tribesmen were killed and 35 injured in overnight fighting in the Hassaba neighborhood, headquarters of opposition Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar.
A tribal leader said street fighting lasted until dawn. Many of the compound's buildings and surrounding houses have already been heavily damaged by days of bombardment.
Since violence erupted in the city on May 23, residents have been hiding in basements as the two sides fight for control of government ministries and hammer one another in artillery duels and gunbattles, rattling neighborhoods and sending palls of smoke over the city.
The clashes have killed nearly 200 people over the last two weeks and turned areas of Sanaa into ghost towns after residents fled for safety.
Seven guards were killed in the rebel strike on the mosque in the presidential palace compound where Saleh and the other officials were at prayer.
The bold assault directly on the president is likely to heighten what has been an increasingly brutal fight between Saleh's forces and the heavily armed tribesmen loyal to al-Ahmar.
The bloodshed comes as nearly four months of protests and international diplomacy have failed to oust Yemen's leader of 33 years.
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