Yemen protesters clash with police

[robdogbucky]

Demonstration is the latest in a series where calls for the ouster of long-serving president Saleh have turned violent.

Last Modified: 02 Apr 2011 16:31

"Thousands of anti-government protesters in Yemen have hurled stones at anti-riot police backed by tanks in the southern province of Aden.

Protesters demanding the ouster of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country's longtime president, called for a general strike on Saturday and witnesses said many of residents responded by not going to work.

Demonstrators set tyres on fire, sending black smoke in the sky. They also erected barricades with large rocks at the entrance of main roads to prevent tanks from moving.

Saleh has ruled Yemen for 32 years and has warned that if he is ousted, Yemen will descend into chaos, boosting the al-Qaeda presence already in the country..."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/201142144212508466.html#


Thousands attend rival rallies in Yemen

Opposition claims protests are biggest so far but thousands also rally in support of Yemen's president, Abdullah Saleh.

Last Modified: 01 Apr 2011 13:29

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, both for and against president Ali Abdullah Saleh, raising fears fresh confrontations between the two sides.

State television showed pictures on Friday of thousands of people on the streets near the presidential palace, waving flags and banners in support of the country's leader.

At the same time the opposition movement told Al Jazeera that they have hundreds of thousands of people, in over 15 provinces in Yemen, on the streets demanding Saleh end his 32-year long rule...

...Saleh, who has served for 32 years, has co-operated closely with the US in the battle against al-Qaeda's Yemen branch, which has used areas of the country that have long been out of state control to launch attacks. The president is also battling regional rebellions in the north and south, with the opposition accusing him of exploiting Western fears that al-Qaeda could rise to fill a vacuum if he were ousted. State control in Yemen has diminished sharply this month as the massive demonstrations continued to swell in major cities and the government pulled police from many towns..."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/20114110141210680.html#

[robdogbucky]

1. And this just in....

Crickets chirping as the world smolders

[PurityOfEssence]

2. It's okay; they're our friends

Over sixty people were killed by snipers in a protest in a single day. The biggest numbers we've heard for a single incident in Libya is 24, although I haven't checked for a couple of days.

The whole cloying storyline about Libya reeks to the stars: we do what we please, and humanitarian motives DO sometimes move us, but NEVER in such a very, very small scale.

Seemingly, we have learned nothing from Vietnam; we think we can meddle in complex intranational situations that we don't understand and just impose our will.

[Distant Observer]

3. In Yemen, more Peaceful Protestors were killed than Violent Protestors Killed in Libya

before all-out civil war and US bombing began.


I guess US, France and Britain will be dropping the bombs on Yemen in due course.

We just have to give them a little time. Or maybe the protestors in Yemen have to pray for a $trillion in Oil and Gas reserves, located a little closer to Europe.