50 Dead as Yemeni Protesters Storm Military Base
- Posted on September 19, 2011 at 8:30pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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SANAA, Yemen (The Blaze/AP) — Thousands of protesters backed by military defectors seized a base of the elite Republican Guards on Monday, weakening the control of Yemen’s embattled president over this poor, fractured Arab nation. His forces fired on unarmed demonstrators elsewhere in the capital, killing scores, wounding hundreds and sparking international condemnation.
The protesters, joined by soldiers from the renegade 1st Armored Division, stormed the base without firing a single shot, according to witnesses and security officials. Some carried sticks and rocks. They used sandbags to erect barricades to protect their comrades from the possibility of weapons fire from inside the base, but none came and the Republican Guards eventually fled, leaving their weapons behind.
Although the base was not particularly large – the Republican Guards have bigger ones in the capital and elsewhere in Yemen – its capture buoyed the protesters‘ spirits and signaled what could be the start of the collapse of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 33-year-old regime.
“It was unbelievable,” said protester Ameen Ali Saleh of storming the base on the west side of the major al-Zubairy road, which runs through the heart of Sanaa. “We acted like it was us who had the weapons, not the soldiers.”
“Now the remainder of the regime will finally crumble,” said another demonstrator, Mohammed al-Wasaby. “Our will is more effective than weapons. The soldiers loyal to Saleh just ran away.”
As clashes continued into the night, several loud explosions rocked Sanaa, and a mortar hit the Islamic University of Al-Iman, killing one and injuring two others. The cause of the explosions was not known.
Saleh went to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after a June attack on his Sanaa compound and has not returned to Yemen, but has resisted calls to resign.
A final showdown may well pit the Republican Guards, led by Saleh’s son and heir apparent Ahmed, against the soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, another elite outfit that has fought in all of Yemen’s wars over the past two decades, and their tribal allies in the capital.
The Republican Guards and the Special Forces, also led by the president’s son, have long been thought to be the regime’s last line of defense against the seven-month-old uprising.
The storming of the base capped two days of clashes in the capital that have left at least 50 people dead and nearly 1,000 injured, mostly demonstrators.
Government forces used snipers stationed on rooftops, anti-aircraft guns, rocket propelled grenades and mortars against the unarmed protesters. Witnesses and security officials described scenes of mutilated bodies, some torn apart. An infant girl, a 14-year-old boy and three rebel soldiers were among the at least 23 people killed on Monday.
“It is over,” concluded protest leader Abdul-Hadi al-Azzai. “The Ali Abdullah Saleh regime is finished. How can you negotiate while massacres are ongoing? The world is silent.”
The head of doctors’ syndicate, Abdel-Qawi al-Shemmari, said that two medics were shot to death while trying to rescue the injured. A news cameraman, Hassan Wadah, was in a coma after he was shot in the face, according to witnesses.
The Yemeni Interior Ministry said in a statement that two members of security forces and three citizens were killed, without referring to protesters.
The violence led authorities to close Sanaa’s airport and order four flights to go instead to the southern port city of Aden, according to an airport official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
But even Aden did not escape bloodshed. Three protesters were wounded in clashes with government forces, witnesses there said.
In the southern city of Taiz, at least four protesters were killed and 40 others were wounded Monday in clashes between anti-regime demonstrators and security forces, according to witnesses.
The latest violence was born partly out of frustration after Saleh shattered hopes raised by the U.S. last week that he was about to relinquish power. The United States once saw Saleh as a key ally in the battle against al-Qaida, but withdrew its support for him as the protests gained strength.
Much is at stake in Yemen for the United States, its Gulf Arab allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, and the West.
Yemen is close to the major oil fields of the Gulf region and overlooks key shipping lanes in the Red and Arabian seas. It is home to one of the world’s most dangerous al-Qaida branches, whose militants have staged or inspired a series of attacks on U.S. territory. Already, the chaos in Yemen has allowed al-Qaida militants to capture and hold a string of towns in the nearly lawless south of the country.
Monday‘s events could significantly help the protesters’ cause against the regime, but it is also likely to push Yemen toward civil war or to break up along tribal or regional lines.
The clashes coincided with a flurry of diplomatic activity designed to resolve the crisis.
U.N. envoy Gamal bin Omar and Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, secretary-general of a regional alliance that groups Yemen’s six Gulf Arab neighbors, were in Yemen on Monday. Saleh and King Abdullah, the Saudi monarch, met in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
“The situation is tense. It can’t continue like this. This is a sign of deep crisis,” bin Omar told The Associated Press.
Opposition figures refused to meet the envoys.
“We can’t talk after all the bloodshed, the torn limbs and the killing of our people. Any talks would be a collaboration in the crimes committed by the regime,” said Mohammed al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned “the excessive use of force by government security forces against unarmed protesters” and called on all sides “to exercise utmost restraint and desist from provocative actions,” U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
The U.S. Embassy said it regretted the bloodshed and called on all parties to “refrain from actions that provoke further violence.”
Yemen’s foreign minister, Abubakr al-Qirbi, said the government was committed to political reforms, but rejected claims of excessive force by police and pro-government militia, accusing some opposition groups of terrorist activity.
Troops from the Republican Guards and the 1st Armored Division were engaged in skirmishes for most of Monday.
“I have been hearing heavy explosions and gunshots since morning,” said Atiaf Alwazir, a 31-year-old blogger from Sanaa. Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division soldiers, she said, returned fire, giving pro-regime forces “an excuse to shoot at peaceful protesters.”
The 1st Armored Division, along with its commander, mutinied and joined the protesters about six months ago. Its mutiny was followed by a series of high-profile defections that left the president largely isolated but did not weaken his resolve to stay in office.
Last Thursday, the U.S. State Department raised expectations by predicting Saleh would relinquish power within a week under a Gulf-mediated, U.S.-backed deal that would grant him immunity from prosecution in return for stepping down. But violence flared anew after Saleh said he had asked Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to negotiate further.
Saleh has already backed away three times from signing the deal, and many believe this move is the latest of many delaying tactics.
His departure for Saudi Arabia in June left the country without an effective political leadership. Hadi took over the reins of power but his authority appeared to pale in comparison to that of the president’s son, two powerful nephews as well as the tribal leaders who took the side of the protesters.
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ThoreauHD
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:03pmRopes and chains you can believe in. Obama be praised. May his caliphate embrace you.
Report Post »MUDFLAPS
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 9:07amyeah dont you love that religion of peace. The bible calls them animals and not a damn thing has changed since that time. they are still 4th century people. Animals
Report Post »rabblechat
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:55amWhen are we going in? Don’t we have to protect these innocent citizens that are being slaughtered by their tyrannical government?
Report Post »Steve
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:17amJust another small example of muhammeds army. Wont be long till that nation falls and a sharia is put in place. Slowly Islam is regaining it’s strength. Bit by bit countries fall. Quote the rhetoric from islamic Egyptician preacher Abu Shadi, he was one of Tahrir Square’s voices “We do not transgress against the Nassara [or “Nazarenes,” the Quranic appellation for Christians], but they must either pay jizya [tribute, and assume inferior status], convert to Islam, or war. He adds: [Samuel] Huntington said the truth even though he was a liar, for the coming struggle is the clash of civilizations, and Islam will be victorious and rule the world with an “Islamic caliphate”… http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/09/egyptian-preacher-christians-must-choose-between-jizya-conversion-or-war.html
Will it effect us?
How much does it cost you to fill up your car every week?
What will happen when this evil sets it’s claws in European nations more then it has now?
What will happen to economies and international trade?
What will the ripple effect be here in the States?
Who will support them and war against us? I‘m not talking your bullets and bomb war I’m referring to economic war.
Many still hide their faces in the sand and listen to our politicians and media talking heads relying on them to give us the answer. They wont and for one reason. Political correctness. They view Islam as a religion when its an ideology destined to destroy us.
Report Post »dizzyinthedark
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 6:49amI could‘t agree with you more on Islam being an ’ideology’. I have been very outspoken against those following the koran and claiming to be American. Recently though, Zudi Jasser and his organization has spoken out against his brother muslims that want shariah law. I am highly sceptical of muslims suddenly speaking out because I wonder what took them so long? Where were they when 911 happened? Where were they when o’bammy threw Israel under the bus? I don’t know, I still don’t trust the lot of them as Zudi still follows and believes in a so-called religion that is so opposite God and His Word written in the Bible.
Report Post »AnAmerican111
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 1:47am“An infant girl and a 14 yr old boy” killed by govt troops…………….
What kind of idiot Arab brings their infant to a violent protest?………..
Muslims!………………..They belong in the desert!
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:10amAh, what‘s ’revolution’ without a few hundred bodies?
Report Post »snowflake220
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 7:41amI was just going to say the same thing ookspay! Dumb parents. I mean REALLY dumb parents.
Report Post »randy
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:19pmWho cares, I mean, who the HEII really cares anymore? Let them all kill themselves, I DON’T CARE!
Report Post »ashestoashes
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:47pmThat’s what I thought. I was just concerned it was American soldiers.
Report Post »Patrick Henry
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:54pmU do not care? I care, I went out and bought 10 more 5 GAL gas cans to add to my other 12 Containers! U must care, their world, is our world, it is all connected made that way from above!
Report Post »God Bless this greedy, self centered, uncaring world. “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Amen
Eliasim
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 1:10amIt looks to me like the crescent has become a sickle.
Report Post »AnAmerican111
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 1:50amAmen!
Report Post »Keep lighting them up!
Rayblue
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:10pmNo freedom for these people. They’re bludgeoning themselves into a finer captivity.
Report Post »Suzanne
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 10:13pmAgain…there is nothing ‘peaceful’ about bringing rocks and sticks to a siege. This seems like provocation without thought or regard of the tragedy that would ensue considering the ‘peaceful protesters’ would be obviously outgunned. If I read correctly…then the Republican Guard took out retaliation in the nearby cities and towns? Who was mutilating bodies and severing limbs? The first picture above with the bloodied baby and the look on the Dr. face is so heartbreaking. The whole scenario as reported seems convoluted and confused…but the protesters appear to be claiming a ‘victory’ overall?
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 10:02pmWell Barry, there’s some more of your hope and change. I hope you’re proud of it, you ……… I guess I can’t say it here.
Report Post »swampcooler
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:44pmwhy isnt barry out in front of this mob? its what he did in egypt and libya, they are marching and protesting for the same stuff. where is barry?
Report Post »TRILO
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:30pmCan someone please explain to me why anyone would take their infant or child to a protest especially when a brutal government has a history of firing on and killing unarmed protesters? What idiots.
I find it interesting that US government officials once again made comments or implied outcomes without facts. They must have been watching the MSM for their information once again. I also find it very telling that Al Qaeda is now in control of several regions of the country. All the radical islamic groups are getting control of the entire region. The middle east is a nighmare thanks to this corrupt and evil administration.
Report Post »Anton Phibes
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:15pmWhoever shot that child has a special circle of hell waiting for them…..
Report Post »godhatesacoward
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:37pmI just don’t understand the violence? For what? Are they really that fkd in the head?
Report Post »RLTW
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:42pmThe answer is yes, their muslims.
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:13pmAnother Obama success. The Arab Spring, but wait, it’s almost fall…… Whudda thunk it!
Report Post »ares338
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:06pmMore of the same!
Report Post »techengineer11
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:31pmThe US Gov‘t openly supports the Yemmen gov’t and advocates strict security enforcement. In other words a Gov’t bought and paid for by dear old Uncle Sam..
I think we need to get completely out of the Middle East and stop meddling in those people’s affairs just for starters.
Report Post »Salamander
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 11:17pmI hate to tell ya, but for those that think we should just ‘pull out’ of every confrontation, be advised that if we don’t meet them on their ground, we will certainly meet them on ours! Yemen has been a hotbed of terrorist formation. We’ve made inroads in an attempt to work with any government that can stabilize the situation, which has been chaotic for many years! I’m no fan of Obama, but I’m reluctant to question the wisdom of our involvement with the present government with out a lot more information suggesting that it is unwise and ill advised! Anybody that thinks they know how to handle the situation in these hotbeds should volunteer their services to our Department of State! I‘m no fan of Hillary’s, but she has a job and a responsibility and I’m sure she needs all the help she can get! Better to help her and work from within, than to be overly critical from without–especially where the situation is as chaotic as Yemen! As for Barry, he is simply an ill-informed child that thinks he can wave his hands and read his teleprompter and everyone in the playground with toe the line! Maybe he has learned from his legal education that if you tell the same story over and over, it soon becomes reality! Lie until it becomes the truth! I have seen that tactic over and over–sadly, it really works!
Report Post »Ookspay
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 9:01pmAhh the glorious religion of pieces strikes again…
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