Government forces attacked an opposition protest camp in Sanaa overnight after President Ali Abdullah Saleh returned to Yemen from a three-month absence and at least 17 protesters and soldiers were killed, witnesses and protesters said on Saturday.
Hundreds fled from the midnight raid on the “Change Square” camp and mortar and sniper fire continued through the morning. A Reuters correspondent saw flashes of light and loud explosions in the area, the heart of an uprising where thousands have camped for eight months calling for Saleh to quit power. Protesters said the attacking forces included the elite Republican Guard and Central Security forces.
Interior Minister Muttahar al-Masri however denied that a raid took place, blaming the gunfire on extremists. “They were striking all night up until now. We couldn’t sleep because of the firing,” said a protester who gave his name as Mohammad. “The buildings around us were shaking. Look at the chaos that Saleh’s return has already caused. These thugs were encouraged by his return.”
Saleh, who went to neighbouring Saudi Arabia for medical treatment in June for wounds suffered in an assassination attempt, said he wanted a truce to end days of fighting in the capital. This would allow peace talks to take place, he said. “I return to the nation carrying the dove of peace and the olive branch,” Saleh was quoted as saying by state television.
He was also quoted by state news agency Saba calling for the capital of Sana’a to be cleared of “all armed elements” and for checkpoints and barriers to be removed. At least six protesters have been killed since last night, according to a doctor at a mosque converted into a field hospital. Also killed were 11 soldiers from the First Armoured Division, led by General Ali Mohsen who defected and sided with protesters, according to a source in the generals’ office.
“I was doing my night shift, and suddenly I heard all these explosions and I realized we must be getting shelled. The next minute, a mortar fell near me and exploded, I’m covered in shrapnel,” said Yussuf al-Hamzy, 20, a soldier for Ali Mohsen who was guarding the square early Saturday morning. “I think they’re trying to go after us, the soldiers for the division. They want to push us out and centralise at the south end of Change Square and they need to get us to leave first,” said Hamzy, his face covered with gashes from shrapnel wound, bloodied arm wrapped and bandaged.
Dozens of wounded streamed into makeshift clinics. Some of the bodies were badly mangled, a medic said. “We have one killed in a terrible way by the mortar fire — we only have half a body,” doctor Mohammed al-Qubati said at a mosque converted into a field hospital. Protesters in the opposition encampment on the 4-km stretch of avenue they have dubbed “Change Square” said some buildings and tents were on fire and that protesters had retreated by about half a kilometre.
