Tag: Saleh

SANAA - Yemeni security forces shot dead at least 17 protesters on Monday as Gulf states offered their mediation and Washington reportedly pulled the plug on embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"The death toll has gone up to 17," said Sadeq al-Shujaa, head of a makeshift field hospital at a square in central Taez after security forces opened fire on demonstrators marching on the governorate headquarters. Witnesses said the demonstrators stormed the courtyard of the

SANAA - Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh thanked thousands of supporters gathered near the presidential palace on Saturday for backing the constitution in a further sign he has no immediate plans to step down.
Weeks of protests across Yemen have brought Saleh's 32-year rule to the verge of collapse but the United States and neighbouring oil giant Saudi Arabia worry about who might succeed him in a country where al Qaeda militants flourish. On Friday, tens of

SANAA - Huge rival protests split Yemen's capital as security forces deployed in unprecedented strength for another Friday showdown on the streets between President Ali Abdullah Saleh's backers and foes.
"I pledge... to sacrifice myself for the people, with my blood and with everything I hold dear," Saleh said, thanking his supporters inside and outside Yemen in the face of two months of escalating protests calling for his ouster. Despite fears of an outbreak of violence, tens of

SANAA - Yemen's embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed to defend his people on Friday as he hailed a massive show of support on the streets of Sanaa, in a brief address to crowds outside his palace.
"I pledge... to sacrifice myself for the people, with my blood and with everything I hold dear," Saleh said, thanking his supporters inside and outside Yemen in the face of two months of escalating protests calling for his ouster.

SANAA - Yemen's president has made a new offer to protesters demanding his ouster, proposing he stays in office until elections are held but transferring his powers to a caretaker government, an opposition source said on Wednesday.
Ali Abdullah Saleh made his offer at a meeting on Tuesday night with Mohammed al-Yadoumi, head of the Islamist Islah party. It was the first time Saleh had dealt with Islah, once a partner in his government, an opposition spokesmen said. "The

SANAA - President Ali Abdullah Saleh pledged to hand over power but only to "safe hands", in a defiant speech to massed supporters on Friday, after talks with a top defector failed to defuse Yemen's crisis.
"We will stand firm with you ... steadfast in the face of all challenges," Saleh, wearing a suit and sunglasses and confidently waving his right hand, told vast crowds in the Yemeni capital.
"We don't need power. We need to hand it over to safe hands, and not to corrupt

SANAA - Yemen's embattled president warned on Tuesday that a coup attempt could spark civil war, as pressure mounted for him to step down and two soldiers were reported killed in a clash between rival units. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, meanwhile, warned that Yemen's political crisis could distract attention from its fight against Al Qaeda. With tanks deployed on the streets of the capital, President Ali Abdullah Saleh warned in an address to his top brass: "Any attempt to reach

SANAA - Yemeni protests demanding an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule spread to a tribal area considered his political stronghold on Tuesday, and military vehicles deployed in the capital. Around 10,000 protesters marched in the city of Dhamar, about 60 km (40 miles) south of Sanaa, residents said by telephone.
Dhamar is known for its ties to Saleh and is the hometown of Yemen's prime minister, interior minister and head judge. "Leave! leave!" the protesters

SANAA - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered his forces Thursday to offer "full protection" to anti-regime protesters and loyalists alike, after 15 people died in an uprising against his rule. The move came as 28 MPs from his General People's Congress (GPC) urged the president to implement a 10-point reform plan and the number rose to 11 of lawmakers from his ruling party who resigned.
Saleh instructed "all security services to thwart all clashes and prevent direct

SANAA - Thousands of students and lawyers demanding Yemen's president step down clashed on Monday with baton-wielding riot police and security forces who threw up razor wire to force them out of the centre of the capital Sanaa. An AFP journalist said more than 3,000 protesters marched from Sanaa University towards Al-Tahrir square calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
City streets around the square echoed to chants of "After Mubarak, Ali," referring to the