Yemen death toll rises to 135
Source: Agencies |
June 3, 2011, Friday
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FORCES loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh battled with tribal fighters in Yemen's capital yesterday in overnight clashes that killed dozens as a US envoy flew around the region to try and stop a civil war.
Ferocious fighting in the streets of Sanaa which grew out of protests against Saleh's rule since January has killed at least 135 people in the past 10 days calling into question the future of the troubled state.
Saleh has reneged on deals by regional leaders to secure a peaceful end to his nearly 33 years in power. US President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser arrived on Wednesday in the region to reinforce the drive to oust him. Global powers are worried that Yemen, home to a wing of militant group al-Qaida known as AQAP and bordering the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, could become a failed state raising risks for world oil supplies.
Even before the wave of pro-democracy protests against his rule, Saleh was struggling to quell a separatist rebellion in the south and a Shiite insurgency in the north.
US envoy John Brennan left Saudi Arabia yesterday for more talks on Yemen in the United Arab Emirates, a US official in Saudi Arabia said. He will seek the help of the two countries' leaders to pressure Saleh to accept the exit deal.
The battles in Yemen are being fought on several fronts, with street fighting between tribal groups and Saleh's forces in Sanaa, popular protests across the country and a battle against al-Qaida and Islamist militants who have seized a coastal city.
Passengers said flights were suspended for several hours at Sanaa airport yesterday due to the fighting. The airport reopened in the afternoon.
In Taiz, about 200 kilometers south of Sanaa, Yemeni soldiers fired warning shots at demonstrators protesting against a government that has brought the nation to the brink of ruin. Medical sources in Taiz said there were no injuries.
More than 40 percent of Yemenis live on less than US$2 a day while a third face chronic hunger. The UN is investigating reports that Yemeni soldiers have killed at least 50 protesters in Taiz since Sunday.
Ferocious fighting in the streets of Sanaa which grew out of protests against Saleh's rule since January has killed at least 135 people in the past 10 days calling into question the future of the troubled state.
Saleh has reneged on deals by regional leaders to secure a peaceful end to his nearly 33 years in power. US President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser arrived on Wednesday in the region to reinforce the drive to oust him. Global powers are worried that Yemen, home to a wing of militant group al-Qaida known as AQAP and bordering the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, could become a failed state raising risks for world oil supplies.
Even before the wave of pro-democracy protests against his rule, Saleh was struggling to quell a separatist rebellion in the south and a Shiite insurgency in the north.
US envoy John Brennan left Saudi Arabia yesterday for more talks on Yemen in the United Arab Emirates, a US official in Saudi Arabia said. He will seek the help of the two countries' leaders to pressure Saleh to accept the exit deal.
The battles in Yemen are being fought on several fronts, with street fighting between tribal groups and Saleh's forces in Sanaa, popular protests across the country and a battle against al-Qaida and Islamist militants who have seized a coastal city.
Passengers said flights were suspended for several hours at Sanaa airport yesterday due to the fighting. The airport reopened in the afternoon.
In Taiz, about 200 kilometers south of Sanaa, Yemeni soldiers fired warning shots at demonstrators protesting against a government that has brought the nation to the brink of ruin. Medical sources in Taiz said there were no injuries.
More than 40 percent of Yemenis live on less than US$2 a day while a third face chronic hunger. The UN is investigating reports that Yemeni soldiers have killed at least 50 protesters in Taiz since Sunday.
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