Armies of Liberation

Update 3: JMP officially withdraws from Gulf intiative

Update 2: report from Abyan- Fadhli is not involved with any kind of clashes right now. Residents are evacuating Zanjibar. The militants that the Yemeni government claims are AQ are not AQ but rather loyalists to Salah. Airstrikes are not targeting them but instead they target civilians. There is no security in the city whatsoever, just chaos.

Military camps have surrendered their weapons to these militants. Saleh has instructed commanders of the camps to give up and surrender. The militants are not in one place; they have spread all over the city. Fadhli’s house was hit. People are panicking, even those with Fahdli have no idea how should they act now.

Update: So far so good, no mass casualty event overnight in Sanaa. The fighting appears to be about taking over government buildings. YP: “Clashes resumed in Sana’a Wednesday morning after a mediation committee failed to reach a ceasefire between al-Ahmar family and the Yemeni government. Hundreds of explosions were heard in the capital today. Ahmar tribes have retaken the ministries it handed over to the mediation committee earlier this week and is expanding. This comes as 2000 additional govt troops have been deployed near change square Sana’a. Protesters fear that a new massacre will take place in Sana’a after more than 61 protesters were killed by security forces in Taiz.”

Seven killed in Taiz as protesters regroup. Update: 12, damn, 7 of them in Wadi Al-Qadi, 2 in Markazi and 2 on Misrakh Road in Taiz. Female protesters refuse to leave and surrounded as live fire continues in Wadi al Qadi.

Zanjibar: via the English FB news group: “Anees Mansour to AJA: Navy forces fired missiles at the city while civilians wave white flags. The people that fleed Zanjibar broke into schools in Aden to find themselves a home; hospital is full of injured and appeals to address the humanitarian situation. All attemps to take out the gunmen have failed because of the inistence of the gunmen on rejecting, all calming attemps have been refused by the gunmen. The victories that the regime is announcing are imaginary vitories and civilians are paying the price; military enhancements that the regime is talking of, did not arrive until now…Saleh’s forces are artillery shelling Hamza Mosque in Ja’ar near MTN and the girls school, Abyan.”

The British travel warning is dire: Anyone with British relatives or friends in strife-torn Yemen is being urged to contact them and plead with them to get out of the country while they still can.

General Hussain Arab denies authorizing his name to be included on Military Statement 1. His signature on the travel document for al Nashiri was supposed to be a forgery too.

Original: The Communications Ministry confirms Sabaphone is shut down, citing violations but it is retaliation toward Hamid al Ahmar, majority shareholder. Or worse yet, a black out in advance of impending crimes. The official TV channels are shutting down, the government announced it as generator maintenance. Its 3 am in Sanaa. All international calls from cell phones are blocked. Cutting the phones is standard proceedure for the Saleh regime; the tactic was used in years past during the Saada War and in Dhalie. The electricity is off in broad sections of Sanaa and Yemen further interrupting communications. And there’s sounds of gunfire and bombing throughout the capital. They always attack at night. It was 3 am when they set the tents ablaze in Taiz. The protesters there are still facing live fire when they try to re-enter the square.

All sorts of large explosions are being reported in Sanaa. (Read on …)

The US says a nice word about the protesters and says they should be included in discussions.

PRESS RELEASES
U.S. Condemns Attack on Peaceful Protesters in Taiz
May 30, 2011

The U.S. Embassy in Sana’a condemns the unprovoked and unjustified attack on peaceful demonstrators in Taiz on the evening of May 29th, in which several demonstrators were killed and many more wounded. We commend the youth protesters who have shown both resolve and restraint and have made their viewpoint known through non-violent means.
We reiterate President Obama’s recent call for President Saleh “to move immediately on his commitment to transfer power,” and we emphasize that the way forward is not through violence. Parties must work together with one another and with the youth, who are the future of Yemen, to build a more peaceful, prosperous and secure nation.

In other statements today the JMP “condemned strongly condemns the kidnapping of three French nationals working in humanitarian relief in Hadramout Governorate…the abduction incident, which came just days after the the Government of France showed a strong and supportive position to the demands of the Yemeni people and the peaceful revolution, put question marks on the timing and the identity of the perpetrators and their goals.” I also question the timing.

UK Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt also condemns the violence in Taiz, issues a threat, “The reach of international justice is long, and the regime should note this” but then urges Saleh sign the GCC agreement, which gives him another two months and immunity from the massacre yesterday. What are they waiting for? He’s not leaving voluntarily and there’s no reason not to start international proceedings now.

For a cold splash of reality, See Don’t Believe Yemen’s Mythical Civil War at the Trench: (Read on …)

Saleh adopts Gaddafi’s strategy and money: Reports indicate the situation in Yemen has been influenced heavily by huge cashflows provided by the Libyan tyrant to his counterpart in Yemen. The first payment (equivalent to US Dollars 200 million) was delivered in cash two months ago to Saleh’s envoy to Libya, the notorious businessman Shaher Abdul Hak, sources report.

Libya has a long history of meddling in Yemen via payments to various individuals and groups.

The international community is concerned about a power vacuum resulting in violence after Saleh’s departure, but a more immediate concern is the continuing slaughter of citizen protesters. It should be clear to all concerned that there can be no immunity for Saleh.

Update: Estimates from the field hospital are that 190 wounded were seized by security and over 400 protesters arrested.

Yemen Post
At least 50 protesters were killed in Taiz today in continuous attacks by government security forces, medical sources in Taiz confirmed. Bushra Maktati, a leading human rights activist in Taiz said that freedom square has basically disappeared after bulldozers took down all the tents and burnt everything down.

She added that over half a million Protesters were always at freedom square and now it is empty. “More than 52 have been killed among them 15 burnt alive while the were sleeping in thier burning tents,” said Maktari. (Read on …)

Abdel Rahman Ba Fadel says the French aid workers were kidnapped because France called for Saleh to step down, unfortunately a likely explanation. He asks the west to step in.

Yemen’s opposition would be willing to sign an agreement with the West to combat al-Qaeda in Yemen, if Ali Abdullah Saleh, the country’s president, steps down, according to an opposition official.

Abdel Rahman Ba Fadel, a member of Yemen’s opposition Islah party, told Al Jazeera that the country’s opposition had contacted the office of the US ambassador in Yemen to this effect. At Youtube

Southern Observatory for Human Rights issues distress call to Red Cross and international orgs. Yemen packages it as six civilians were killed and nine others were wounded on Sunday when Yemeni military forces shelled al-Qaida hideouts. They are suddenly fighting al Qaeda now, from the air after withdrawing forces.

Distress call to the international organizations and the International Committee of the Red Cross

May 30, 2011

Sirs and madams in the international organizations and the International Committee of the International Red Cross

The Southern Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) presents its best compliments to you. And it appeals you in an urgent way that does not bear waiting or delaying to meet some demands, since the fact that there are many people of the south are exposed to murder, torture and seizure till this very moment by the Yemeni forces stationed in Abyan, southern Yemen.

According to our own sources that the cities of Zanzibar, Al-Kaud, and Ja’ar are subjected to indiscriminate bombing by the Yemeni military forces stationed in the region, resulting in the death and wounding of dozens of citizens, including many women and children. (Read on …)

Yemeni Americans submit concrete proposals to President Obama including a no-fly zone, freezing Saleh’s financial assets, no immunity from prosecution, the inclusion of representatives of the revolution in relevant discussions at the UN, and an end to international support, especially from Saudi Arabia, for the regime

H. E. Barak H. Obama, President of the United States
The White House Washington DC 16 May 2011 Dear Mr. President,

As the real people behind the ongoing peaceful Yemeni Revolution. we are at a loss to finding a reasonable explanation for the rather callous attitude of the international community towards the legitimate call of the Yemeni people for immediate and unconditional change of regime. (Read on …)

handy, missing the Feb 25 massacre in Aden, the first time they stole corpses

Alert net: May 30 (Reuters) – Here is a timeline of events in Yemen since protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 32-year rule began earlier this year:

Jan. 29, 2011 – Yemen’s ruling party calls for dialogue with the opposition in a bid to stem anti-government protests. (Read on …)

51, the deaths so far are tallied at 51, but many corpses and injured were kidnapped by the security forces. The water cannons shot petrol or gas on the protesters tents at 3 am while they were still inside, many burned. Charred bodies of children and the disabled were discovered this morning. Details and sniper videos below the fold.

Summary from the YT:Taiz, May 30 – A group of security force soldiers have raided the protest camp in the heart of Taiz city, known as the “Freedom Square”, at 3:00 AM on Sunday, 30 May, killing dozens of people and injuring others.

The loyalist soldiers attacked the square from all directions and gunmen in police and plain clothes shoot at protesters from the roofs of surrounding buildings. (Read on …)

Statement no.43-B
Thursday , May 29, 2011

Urgent Call to the international community
Stop the Human Massacre in Taiz City – Yemen (Read on …)

Saleh will never agree to an orderly transition of power. Al Ahmar is not exploiting the situation by firing back when Saleh’s forces attacked.

Today 1) snipers firing on protesters in Taiz and artillery, 2) bombing al Habiylan, Lahj 3) bombing Zanzibar, Abyan after handing it over to militants 4) the bombing in Nehm, Sanaa yesterday destroyed dozens of homes. 5) bombing in Arhab, Sanaa today.

Youth Rev Organizing Com: Delay in discussing Saleh’s crimes at the UN Security Council gives him more time to commit massacres against Yemeni people

Reuters: “We are very concerned that the unsettled situation in Yemen is bringing longstanding tribal rivalries to the surface, which is further complicating the process of reaching an agreement on an orderly transfer of power,” one senior official said, offering the U.S. position on condition of anonymity.

“Tribal as well as extremist elements are attempting to exploit the current instability in order to advance their own parochial interests.”

While U.S. support for Saleh has eroded, Washington also has serious misgivings about the wealthy and powerful Ahmar clan and considers it unlikely to help bring about sweeping reform should it gain further clout,

Sweeping reform?? The US is now seeking sweeping reform but but the GCC plan that the US is married to guarantees no reforms at all.

Urgent message to Human Rights Organizations

The city of Zinjibar in the Province of Abyan in Yemen is under heavy bombardment that includes large bombs and rockets, fired on them by the Government forces of the Yemeni Regime. Various reports indicate that there are dozens of civilians are under the rubber of their homes and bodies scattered in the streets of the city. The residents of the city are calling for immediate help to stop the atrocities against them which are being carried out in the pretext of fighting “AlQadia”. They need, on urgent bases humanitarian aid of food & medical assistance and most of all protection from the madness of the regime.

Saleh creates the chaos and then bombs it. Typical.

Bombing Arhab now: the 101 brigade is bombarding Arhub area, attempting to rescue the Rep. Guards 26 Brigade, Mareb Press Update: Zindani’s house bombed.

Army troops stationed west of the city Habilayn
province pilgrimage renewed bombardment weapons, the machine middle of
the city for the second day coincides with the fall of the city of
Zanzibar, the capital of Abyan province – The move – after the
withdrawal of part of a broader these forces from east of the city
early last month and attest to local sources, that military force
Haider led by Brigadier-one close to the president the right)

This is why I have a category “state jihaddists.”

Update with English subtitles:

Al Masdar: The leadership of the armed forces in support of peaceful popular revolution in Yemen Statement No. 1, followed by Major General Abdullah Ali Elewa and former Secretary of Defense (Read on …)

Somebody find this guy, former Interior Minister Hussain Arab, and tell him I would like him to interview him to confirm that Saleh had foreknowledge of the USS Cole bombing. Saleh knew in advance and helped plan it. I, here on the US East Coast, know that Saleh knew. It is very likely the US Military (and intelligence) also knows Saleh helped al Qaeda killed those 17 sailors. Whether Sec Def Gates support of Saleh is related to protecting his budget or the last years’substantial investment in the CT forces, its a very sad day for the US when it comes to this.

Not to mention all our soldiers killed in Iraq as a result of the well managed pipeline that starts in Yemen. All the US whining about Syria rings hollow when there was little pressure on Saleh to close the spigot. The years of quietness in Yemen (2002-2007) was not a result of US CT successes, as some have postulated, but rather the result of an explicit agreement between al Qaeda and Saleh. Furthermore, Saleh continues to prove safe harbor. US policy in Yemen is overtly endangering US security and American (and Yemeni) lives.

In this interview, Arab says Saleh handed over Zanzibar to al Qaeda, sacrificing low level Yemeni troops to the theatrics on the international stage. The US is pretending to fall for the AQ threat that Saleh is producing because its convenient.

Al Masdar: For his part, accused the former Yemeni Interior Minister Hussein Mohammed Arab regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to “support Al-Qaeda” cross “handed over” a number of cities in Abyan, which led to the control of the organization in control in Zanzibar.

The Arabs said to Agence France Presse that Al-Qaeda “did not launch any attack on Zanzibar and all what happened was carried out by the process of handing over security leaders in Zanzibar to armed groups, leaving scores of poor soldiers to their fate.”

He added that “President Saleh’s regime wants to dump the southern provinces in the mess by allowing the armed groups that claim affiliation to al Qaeda,” and called the sons of the southern provinces to “confront the armed groups that claim to follow the rule is valid.

Also al Fahdli dishes on Saleh and Abyan via al Jazeera. A summary kindly provided by a viewer: (Read on …)

Many foreigners, dozens, have been kidnapped in Yemen by tribes over the last decade and all have been returned without harm. The timing of this is off though. Some are saying that since the “AQAP take-over of Abyan” didn’t generate a US reversal, Saleh is continuing to play on AQ fears with this incident. Maybe his forces will find and rescue them into order to put Saleh in a good light.

BBC: Three French aid workers are feared kidnapped after going missing in southern Yemen, officials say. The three are reported to have gone missing in Hadramawt in the south-east.

They had been in Seyun since mid-April working for Triangle Generation Humanitaire, a French NGO working in Yemen since 1998. (Read on …)

According to Mareb Press, Saudi Arabia withdrew its objection to sending Ali Abdullah Saleh to the UN’s ICC, and King Abdullah called for Saleh’s departure, an excellent development. But there’s nothing in the western media about the call.

Diplomatic sources said that the Saudi monarch King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz told Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in a telephone conversation with him yesterday he ’should be giving up’ for power after a bloody confrontation with all the Al Ahmar in Sana’a during the last few days…The sources added that the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council yesterday decided to take a complete file of Yemen to the UN Security Council to take decisive action shifting to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the authority immediately after the GCC states has made strenuous efforts to persuade him to do so during the last period.

I have the documentation and a timeline of Saleh’s violations of international law. The year 2005 alone is enough to convict Saleh of crimes against humanity. 2009 was another doozy between crimes against the southerners and in Saada. Bringing Saleh to the ICC is an important development that will foster national cohesion, as it is the Southerners’ long standing demand and will broaden national understanding of crimes in the south as well as Saada. The hundreds killed in recent protests and financial crimes are additional topics.

A trial balloon? Pressure tactic? al Masdar reports the information came from a Saudi TV talk show and has not been announced in the official Saudi media. Al Arabyia is reporting it now as well.

(Read on …)

Another Republican Guard base falls-ie, voluntarily joins the rev, so maybe stands is a better word. The RG and Central Security in Dhamar, central Yemen, joined in celebrations today. The primary supports of the regime and the butcher, Ali Abdullah Saleh are crumbling. The RG, headed by Saleh’s son, Ahmed, was thought to be the inseparable from Saleh, but officers, commanders and posts are peeling away, some voluntarily and some by force. Update: 26 Sept denies and says, “Commander of the brigade, Brigadier Ibrahim al-Gaefi said on Saturday that the personnel of the 9 th Republican Guards Brigade will remain loyal and faithful to the homeland and the political and military leadership led by His Excellency President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.” Wish I had that vid of the RG celebrating handy, they looked so happy. Faithful to the homeland is different from faithful to Saleh. Update 2: its new officers and personnel quickly tasked to the 9th Infantry Brigade of the RG that pledged loyalty according to local reports.

Early reports indicate the three helicopters (one crashed and two captured) taken in Nehm are a Russian type (could be Ukrainian) not US. Update; this is the vid from Nehm, looks Russian to those who know these things.

Fighting resumes in al Hasaba, Sanaa. A short lived cease fire indeed. Five explosions near Sheikh alAhmar’s compound, artillery toward the airport. Earlier in Rawda near Yahya Saleh’s home. Gunfire and shelling now, 2 am Sanaa time. Several reports say its an attack on the 1st Armored (Ali Mohsen) and the al Ahmar home.

The state media lies about Nehm, nothing new there, broadcasting from the presidential palace.

Massive march in Saada “confirms the meaning of national cohesion”

Saleh will likely approach the conflict with tribesmen in Nehm the same way he did in Saada, by committing massive human rights violations in order to pressure the fighters.

During the Saada War, 2004-2010, Saleh bombed civilian refugees, villages and hospitals. The state systematically blocked food, gas and medical supplies as a matter of policy. The state refused permission to international aid organizations to treat wounded civilians (not to mention Houthis).

Journalists were banned from the region for five years and punished when they wrote about the conflict. Saleh redeployed US trained counter-terror units to the region and used US supplied equipment in the conflict.

Internal refugees were about 56,000 in 2005 and grew to over 300,000 by 2009. The few UN refugee camps established were so poorly stocked that infants died of malnutrition within the camps. However the vast majority of refugees sheltered in the mountains or fields or with relatives. Child malnutrition in Saada remains well over the national average of 50%.

Saleh operated with complete impunity and little criticism from the US, under both Bush and Obama, even though he was deploying al Qaeda fighters, because he was the only game in town. As it feigned ignorance of the slaughter, the US’s primary concern in Yemen was and remains counter-terrorism. Somewhere around 2009, the EU and UN began making some noise.

The Saada War was not a civil war. Human Rights Watch said the state’s actions warranted an international inquiry into violations of international law, specifically collective punishment of the civilian population.

Saleh really is a butcher as Sadiq al Ahmar said. While many circumstances are different in the current situation, that basic fact is not.

Update: 120 homes destroyed in Nehm. In Yemen, extended families live together and a minimum of ten per home is realistic. Then nearly 1500 are displaced by one day of Saleh’s wrath. The other predictable factor in this conflict is that the tribesmen are the better fighters although under-equipped. They seized nine tanks and three helicopters in one day. Thats how the Houthis got most of their weapons–from the state.

Yemen Post Local in Nehm said that the government was attacking the villages with Meg 29 warplanes. Nehm tribal leader Sheikh Saleh Najeed said that the government forces have until now destroyed more than 120 homes in Nehm with the air attacks.
He said that two of the military bombers landed in villages of Nehm and refused to attack the tribes. The planes are now in the control of the Nehm tribes and the soldiers who were aboard the helicpters are now with the tribes. They are in total 24 soldiers in total.
The death toll from Nehm tribes is 18, while more than 65 are injured.
Tribes confirmed that they have taken 9 tanks from the republican guards.

Yemen Revolution edges closer to victory as tribes overrun major military compound, Saleh plays al Qaeda card in Abyan

These are your headlines today folks.

Tribal loyalties over ride GPC and military identities.The defection yesterday of the Republican Guard commander was significant, as was the tribes disowning any loyalty to Saleh. There wasn’t even a pro-Saleh protest today. The Nehm tribe is Bakil, the al Ahmars are Hashid- ie, Saleh unified all the tribes against him. The protesters are dedicated to non-violence and closer to winning. That’s what is happening. Not an impending civil war, despite all the fear mongering.

In Abyan, the state abandoned Zanzibar government buildings and state militants are driving around chanting. The residents are furious. The JMP said Saleh handed over the city to the militants to put more pressure on the international community to accept him staying longer in power. There are some clashes, but it is not like Ja’ar was in 2009. It might get there, especially in the vacuum created by prolonged US support of Saleh.

A clear statement from Def Sec Gates might help end things a little quicker, with less civilian casualties, by demoralizing the remaining Saleh forces. Something like, “The US now has done post-Saleh planning,” and hopefully we have. If not, they can borrow mine. Certainly it must be distressing to watch millions of dollars and months of effort in standing up the Yemeni CT forces go down the drain or worse yet be used against unarmed civilians. But it is time to cut losses and move on to the next step.