Corrected: 20? Yemen Air Force kills 200 soldiers for refusing to attack civilians, Updated
Update 2: I bumped this back to the top (scroll down for new) to add the “20?” and to note that, oddly, there’s no reporting on this in the Arabic papers at all. One person says 20 were killed. (24 RG surrendered to the tribesmen in May.) There’s no doubt about the month long bombing and the 10,000 civilian refugees though. Some are living in caves per the UN. The Arhab tribe’s statement last week denouncing the RG’s murder of tribal prisoners and corpse desecration, and their threat on Sana’a airport in retaliation, was carried by many sites, so clearly the tribe is able to communicate with the media. The Yemen Post story is still up with 200 in the article title and a fatality count of 246 in the body, so its not a typo. The paper is normally reliable and has been plugged in to events in Arhab since Nehm. w/a
Update 3: Ah, maybe a bit too plugged in. The Yemen Post corrected (without explicitly noting the correction) another fatality estimate (that was off by the power of 10) in an article published Aug 3. This is what was on their site 8/3/11 as copied here: One of the airstrikes in Arhab district after tribes were said to have seized a republican guard killed at least 400 officers and troops of those who refused to fight the tribes, he was quoted as saying by Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper.
And whats on the Yemen Post site now: One of the airstrikes in Arhab district killed a large number of armed tribesmen fighting the government as well as republican guards. The total number of death varied, with least estimates saying that at least 35 were killed in the air raids.
This doesn’t mean the entire body of the paper’s reporting should be discounted, just double checked especially on the topic of Arhab. The Yemen Post is perhaps the leading independent English language paper in Yemen, with daily updates, and unlike many, covers breaking news. Its normally quite accurate and a valuable resource. But news and reality in Yemen is best discerned by triangulating among many sources.
Media outlets often have overt bias and agendas, and usually a group or financial backer to defend and praise. The system where each political party has its own paper, and is half propaganda, often bleeds out to the independent outlets as well. The trick is discovering which particular topics each outlet is most likely to spin and comparing many reports. But even papers that strive for independence sometimes have bad sources or a lack of experience on how to issue corrections. (Look at today’s contradictory and ever changing reporting on the terrible helicopter crash in Afghanistan from the top level US media.)
The very real threat to journalists of state retaliation in Yemen has led to “red lines” and under-reporting on the Saada War, the southern independence movement and corruption, also giving a distorted western picture of Yemen. Advertisers can also impact reporting.
Adding to the confusion, the Saleh regime has been engaged in a truly massive propaganda campaign for a decade on topics from “reform” to “al Qaeda.” It may be typical of many dictators, but Saleh takes it to new heights. For a minor example the US Embassy had to issue a press release denying the regimes total fabrication of the US position laid out at a meeting. The regime also normally restricts journalists’ access (by beatings, arrests and road blocks) to conflict zones. Lastly, the lack of infrastructure (electricity, roads, rails, wireless) is a significant impediment to accurate reporting, when reporters can’t reach the scene or talk to witnesses.
Original: There are state atrocities in nearly all governorates on a daily basis. The ongoing shelling in Arhab that killed the soldiers targets not only the military base but villages, wells, mosques and other civilian infrastructure. Over ten thousand civilians are displaced due to the shelling. Hadramout is also spiking as the security forces use violence to repress protests over the death of a citizen. Update: Republican Guard shelling 1st Armored Division in the capital, Sanaa, clashes breaking out.
Yemen Air Force kills at least 200 of Its Own Forces in Arhab District Yemen Post: A senior security official in Arhab district, 40 kilometer northeast of the capital Sana’a, said that governmental warplanes attacked governmental soldiers who refused to fight pro revolution tribes in the district.
The official said that more than 240 republican guard forces in Sama’e region of Arhab refused to attack tribes with heavy artillery and were negotiating with them on surrendering the Sama’e military base of the republican guards.
In retaliation, government air forces attacked the gates of the camp killing more than 200 republican guards and at least three-dozen fighters.
“The government did not stand quiet when the guards refused orders to clash with tribes and officials in the republican guards felt it was necessary that those who disobey orders are killed,” the official said.
“The guards who surrendered did not want to attack their own people. They were killed for giving the blood of Yemenis value,” he concluded.
Eyewitnesses in Arhab confirmed the incident and the attack but gave higher death tolls on the tribes and guards lines.
This seems quite reasonable:
Marebpress translated by NYR: A preliminary statistics revealed that the war between the Republican Guard forces and Arhab tribes killed 40 people (civilians) and injured at least 120 over 4 months of bloody clashes.
The villages of Ahrab directorate were bombed by 30 air strikes by 7 brigades of the Republican Guard and the Air Defense using various types of heavy weaponry.
The survey revealed that 18 villages had been shelled since fighting broke out on March 30, and the death toll is 40 civilians, most of whom were killed at the checkpoint of the Republican Guard 62 brigade. A total of 120 number of wounded during the bombing while they are in their homes. In addition to 13 civilians abducted by the Republican Guard brigades.
More than 1500 families (each family about nine people-ed) were displaced from their homes and lived in the caves the mountain caves seeking refuge after more than 95 houses were destroyed by the bombardment. In addition 150 houses were partially destroyed and 28 citizens cars.
16 wells of water and 10 farm valleys were also destroyed in Arhab in addition to 4 mosques bombed by the Republican Guards.
