Al Shawa: The (pro-rev) army (led by Ali Mohsen al Ahmar) said in a statement yesterday that Mohammed Saleh al Ahmar left in a Russian cargo plane yesterday that took off from Sanaa airport, in “the process of smuggling money abroad after the protests plaguing the rest of the pillars of the family and the most recent sit-air forces to demand the dismissal of Mohamed Saleh al Ahmar, who is about to catch up with his brother Ali, God’s favor, as a result of these protests.”

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black; Ali Mohsen is another big thief and murderer.

Actually Wednesday was the fifth day but details in English:

Yemen troops demand dismissal of Air Force chief (AFP)

SANAA — Thousands of soldiers continued sit-ins Tuesday for a second day in Yemen demanding the “official” ouster of the Air Force commander they accuse of corruption, AFP correspondents and military officials said.

They are demanding the dismissal of General Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar, a half brother of President Ali Abdullah Saleh who left Yemen on Sunday for the United States following a year-long uprising against his 33 years in power.

A military panel formed to restructure Yemeni forces based on a Gulf-brokered power transfer plan signed by Saleh has replaced Ahmar, appointing retired general Abdullah al-Yadoumi in his place, the opposition said Tuesday….Similar sit-ins took place at military bases in the provinces of Lahij in the south, Hadramawt in the east and in Taez — Yemen’s second-largest city located southwest of Sanaa, military officials said.

“We demand the departure of Mohammed Saleh al-Ahmar. We will not negotiate with anyone as long as this corrupt commander is in office,” said a soldiers’ spokesman, accusing him of having “transformed the army into a private institution.”

Dozens of soldiers who have participated in the protests were arrested Monday at the bases of Anad in Lahij and Tariq in Taez, military officials said.

Anti-corruption strikes have spread across several military and government departments in the impoverished country where the economy is on the brink of collapse after a year of protests.

Since Saleh took office in 1978, he has carefully chosen members of his regime, appointing his relatives to head the country’s military and security apparatus.

In addition to his son and half brother, Saleh’s nephew Yehya commands the central security services and Tariq, another nephew, controls the presidential guard.

Damage not caused by shelling, four jets damaged and possible inside job, airport receiving.

National

Another military official, who also requested anonymity, said the blast on Sunday night inside the military base could be a signal of division in the air force led by Mohammed Saleh Al Ahmar, the half brother of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Mr Saleh, in power for 33 years, has refused to heed regional and international calls to step down, and his military forces have launched a brutal crackdown on protesters that has left hundreds dead and thousands more wounded.

The blast came amid reports that Mr Saleh’s forces were bringing weapons to the military base….On Sunday, thousands of Yemeni youths protested at the port in Hodiedah, where opposition party media claim the rockets were brought in to arm the jets. In a statement, the protesters condemned turning the port into a gateway for arms that will be used against the people of Yemen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15515532

Yemen has shut its international airport in the capital Sanaa after explosions were reported at an adjacent air force base.

A number of blasts were heard at the al-Daylami base, prompting flights to be rerouted from Sanaa International Airport to Aden.

Sanaa has been wracked by fighting between forces loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his opponents.

Tens of thousands protest regularly for an end to his 33-year rule.
Transfer of power

Residents and witnesses said at least one shell had hit the air base.

One aviation official told Agence France-Presse news agency: “There were four explosions at the air force base alongside the international airport and two fighter jets went up in flames.”

No-one has yet said they carried out any attack and no casualties have been reported.

Flights have been diverted to Aden in the south of the country.

Clashes continue between pro- and anti-Saleh factions.

Reuters news agency quoted tribal sources as saying four people were killed by army shelling in the Arhab area, north of the capital, overnight.

The UN Security Council has called on President Saleh to step down immediately and has condemned excessive force against protesters, hundreds of whom have died since the unrest began in January.

Mr Saleh has so far failed to implement a political solution based on a plan put forward by the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), which urges him to transfer power to his deputy.

The butcher Saleh calls for a cease fire to the violence that his loyalist forces began and are perpetuating. Well over a hundred unarmed demonstrators were killed across Yemen this week by sniper fire and shelling on the protest squares. ( The NYT and some diplos seem to blame the protesters for marching out of the square, the blood is on the hands of those with the guns, not the murder victims.) There was ample evidence to bring Saleh to the Hague on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity by 2009.

AJE : Pro-Saleh forces Friday shelled buildings in Taiz, Yemen’s second-biggest city. Heavy clashes and thuds of mortars were also heard throughout the night in Sanaa into morning Friday. One person was killed overnight after mortars hit the square in central Sanaa where protesters demanding Sale’s ouster have been camped out for months, a medical official said on condition of anonymity.

Be prepared for the coming propaganda onslaught where black is white. I guess Im going to have to fully fix the website.

The best news this week before the toxic reappearance of the revenant Saleh was new political party organization in the squares, late but important and yet another reason why the GCC plan and Obama’s call for speedy elections are counter-productive and will only re-entrench the regime. This is a related article and overview from a Yemeni perspective: Yemen’s young people are the country’s brightest hope.

Gulf Times: Though Yemen’s oil exports are a modest 105,000 barrels per day, its cash-strapped government depends on the revenue to pay civil servants, its army and fund most state operations.
The fuel crisis started after tribesmen, who the government says are backers of anti-Saleh protests, cut a main oil pipeline in the central province of Maarib that supplies the local Aden refinery and the Ras Isa export terminal on the Red Sea.
“The Yemeni government is losing about $3mn a day,” a Yemeni shipping source said by telephone.
Armed tribesmen have blockaded Maarib, preventing trucks from leaving with fuel shipments as well, and ambushing any vehicles that have tried. Across Yemen, residents are suffering severe shortages in cooking gas, diesel and petrol.
Sanaa residents say electricity has been cut between eight and 10 hours daily since last week. Cooking gas could only be bought on the black market where prices have quadrupled…Employees from Aden Refinery Company said the refinery had been shut for at least a week, and said their director was in Sanaa to request financing to import crude oil.
A Yemen-based shipping source said Yemen already bought some 15,000 tonnes of diesel from Saudi Arabia to try and fill the fuel shortage…The International Monetary Fund estimated in April its fiscal gap would widen to 6.4% of economic output this year, from 4% in 2010, after it boosted spending on social measures in the wake of unrest.

Regional: Syria is waking up a tad but there’s still a lot of understandable fear. The Omani protests seem to have petered out. Libya is not looking good with the murderous lunatic Qaddafi retaking many towns. The no-fly zone is not established. Hamas harassed protesters in Gaza and confiscated cameras. With Saudi sending a thousand troops into Bahrain, and the imposition of martial law there, the democracy dominoes are shifting in the other direction. It will be up to Yemeni protesters to keep going as external momentum diminishes if thats what it comes to. But they are taking down chunks of the regime daily.

Update: Good thing there is a plan in place. al Sahwa

Facebook strictly tightened in Yemen, 7/3/2011 – Sahwa Net

Sahwa Net- While Many of Internet subscribers in Yemen have expressed sorrow as the Tel-Yemen Company in Yemen imposes restrictions on Facebook users, a number of Yemeni civil society organizations condemned the attempts of the Yemeni Parliament tries to approve communication laws which could violate freedoms and allow surveillance on citizens.

Facebook groups which witnesses hot discussions abut Yemen’s political situations nowadays face difficulties on communication, particularly those groups which belong to opposition parties.

On Sunday and Monday, Internet service was blocked in Sana’a and some other Yemen governorates for several hours.

Yemen Post: The number of the internet subscribers increased in Yemen last year to 563299 people, up 107870 subscribers from 2009, a report by the Public Corporation for Wire and Wireless Telecommunication said.

The subscribers to the service Dial Up reached 484114 people and the subscribers to the service YemenNet ADSL are now 79185 people, the report said.

The internet cafes also rose throughout Yemen from 989 in 2009 to 1004 in 2010, the report said, pointing out that the website hostings within the Yemeni Internet Gate YemenNet reached last year 627 varying from commercial, governmental and educational providers to organizations and networks.

Furthermore, the links through hired channels for internet purposes rose to 139 and the links for information transmission purposes to 1.386 points, it said.

The internet service entered Yemen in 1996 and the only suppliers are Yemen Net and TeleYemen companies.