Armies of Liberation

The Houthis are irrationally paranoid and conspiracy minded about everything. As you may recall it was the Houthis, not the Islamists of Islah, that strenuously objected to and cancelled the “Together against Terrorism” nation wide march in Yemen for the 9/11 anniversary, pissing me off entirely. If the Houthis had any contact with the outside world, they would know MSF is an apolitical organization of charitable doctors from across the globe that altruistically volunteer their time to help people in need. And in Saada, after years of war, some children have never seen a doctor in their life. The Houthis apparently fail to recall it was MSF volunteers that drove through the state’s random shelling of Dhyan City in order to care for wounded civilians. MSF statement here doesn’t mention threats; al Masdar is also reporting threats on the medical workers. Others say a power struggle between the Houthis and the govt health office.

Yemen Post: A Non-Governmental Organization working in the northern province of Sa’ada announced today that it was suspending its operations after its staff had been attacked by al Houthi Shi’ite group….The organization reported today that it had been the target of al-houthi’s intimidation tactics as the (Houthi) tribe disagreed with its field work.

The MSF which so far has been mainly distributing food and medecine to the region’s most vulnerable has been accused by al-Houthi of really conducting a “Christianization” campaign.

Residents in Sa’ada have confirmed that the organization has been the victim of a hate campaign by the al-Houthi as the group tried to have the NGO shut down.

Yemen Post: As Yemen is living through its worst spell of violence since the beginning of its popular uprising, with several hundred casualties awaiting medical treatment, the Red Cross is accusing the Yemeni government of theft and abuses.

According to Valerie Petitpierre, the deputy head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s delegation in Yemen, government forces would have physically assaulted some of her staff as they were trying to confiscate their medical supplies.

“The ICRC delegation is receiving very worrying reports of armed confrontations taking place in Al-Gomhori Hospital and placing many innocent lives at risk,” she said.

Eye witnesses within the hospitals confirmed the allegations, saying that several members of the Red Cross staffs had been beaten and threatened of further reprisals if they insisted in helping the wounded.

Petitpierre went further in her declaration mentioning that “in some cases they have had equipment confiscated, and there have also been incidents in which they were denied access to people in need of first aid.”

She stressed that it was the government’s moral duty to ensure and facilitate medical treatment to all, beyond prejudice or feelings of revenge. “Anyone injured or wounded must be able to receive life-saving health care without undue delay.”

The documents HOOD published were translated by Yemen Rights Monitor, an excellent site in English to follow all the news of the rev.

Regarding the heightened and unusual effects of the tear gas on the protesters, it says in document that the smoke bombs are expired and cause long term health problems, addressed to the interior minister Rashad Al-Masri.

I wrote about a mass grave in Aden in February and as well as later reports of security forces kidnapping wounded protesters to artificially reduce the number of fatalities.

Hood also spoke of its possession of official documents reveal the crimes committed by official orders and official complicity to conceal, other crimes committed, related to some political backgrounds.
Hood confirmed that it received information and testimonies written and documented about the central security forces and gunmen in civilian clothes attacking the demonstrators with live bullets, sharp weapons and poison gas on Saturday night 04/09/2011 in Zubairy Street and Ring Road, which led to the downfall of a number of dead and wounded. Hood quoted witnesses saying that “Nearly 20 people were pulled to some personnel carriers and government vehicles transferred to an unknown destination and their injuries were at the head, neck, chest, abdomen and some of them had died.” Also, confirmed that it had received “certificates for a mass graves in the area of “ Bait Boss , body parts were found in trash barrels in that area, it is believed it belong to protesters who were arrested during the massacre of Kentucky Round in Sana’a. Attorney General has received a notification of this.”
Below is the doctors’ report on the body parts found in Beit Bous.

Crap. Over three hundred infected, mostly children, and six dead. I am not certain its actually small pox, hopefully and more likely, its chicken pox. Many of the children of Saada have never seen a doctor in their lives and a number have not been vaccinated despite the good efforts of international medical organizations.

Ray News

According to medical sources in Saada province that there is a widespread heavy to smallpox in the province under the complete lack of health services.
وأكدت المصادر الطبية لــ ” التغيير ” أن حالات الإصابة بمرض الجدري وصل إلى 360 إصابة معظمهم من الأطفال والشباب, منها 6 حالات وفاة, موضحة أن هذا المرض خطير وهو من الأمراض المعدية. The sources said that the medical “change” that the incidence of smallpox arrived to 360 injured, mostly children and young people, including 6 deaths, adding that this is a serious disease of infectious diseases.
وناشدت المصادر الطبية وزارة الصحة العامة والسكان سرعة النزول للمحافظة وتوفير العلاج اللازم لهذا المرض. And appealed to medical sources, the Ministry of Public Health and Population speed down to maintain and provide the necessary treatment for this disease.

This statement links the doctors’ kidnapping with President Saleh’s address trashing female political participation as immoral because it encourages mixing. (From the same man who promised and reneged on female quotas in the 2006 election and promised and reneged on a minimum marriage age of 15.)

This statement also notes that the units of the security forces that are slaughtering the protesters are the same that have received increased US support, funding and training over the last year in an effort to stand up viable counter-terror units, the Central Security and the Republican Guard. While Saleh’s agreement to let western CT teams roam the country side was considered a success in itself, predictably the US efforts did not produce significant results in dismantling the AQAP network.

Its remarkable that Saleh, a pathological liar, has even a shred of credibility left with the international community. Everything he is doing now is a stall tactic. Saleh has no intention of resigning. Its disappointing the US military pinned US national security on a documented war criminal who openly murdered his own citizens in cold blood for a decade. Equally disappointing is the US failure to understand who and what they are dealing with even at this late stage.

Today, the Saleh’s Central Security Forces and troops of thugs Kidnapped four female doctors from the ambulances trucks where they were providing humanitarian relief for wounded young protesters Sana’a. The doctors with other young protesters were led to National Security detention which is technically and financially supported by U.S.A, and managed by Saleh’s nephew, Ammar Saleh.

The central security forces and thugs attacked the peaceful demonstrators with heavy stacks, poison gas and live bullets. Three young protesters killed and hundreds injured

According to eyewitnesses, security forces were shooting gas bombs directly to the bodies of the protesters. Also the security forces shielded the thugs and enabled them to shoot protesters with live bullets.

The demonstration of today came after Sale’s statement of last Friday which he criticized the participation of women side by side with men in the protest squares and described it as “haram”. That statement encouraged Saleh’s thugs to gather today and to call women protesters as dishonored. They also called others to break into the square where women are sit-in.

It is worth mentioning that the series of killings, abductions, crimes against humanity and crimes of mass murder carried out by Saleh’s against the peaceful protesters demanding Saleh to step down from power are continuing for 3 months now killed more than 200, thousands wounded and hundreds are kidnapped.

Peoples of the world especially women and humanitarian organizations please help Yemen and demand your governments to make Saleh’s step down from power immediate.

Update: At the Hague, Yemen says they were internationally approved CS and CN types of riot control gasses and, “Despite of the results of this report which refutes the use of toxic gases , the Yemeni government has made a formal request to the World Health Organization to send experts from the organization to examine the cases.” That would be good. via SABA

Original: That makes sense, anybody remember the lab that was found in oh 2009 in Sanaa. The Saddamists in Sanaa have always been a negative influence, including in Saaada, where co-incidentally there were also reports of chemical weapon use. I can’t believe the international community hasn’t rushed in there to test it at the first report and that the US embassy came out with some mealy mouth statement that the US does not have the capacity to determine the ingredients and can’t help in any way on the issue. Imagine the response if it was Iran? If its homecooked, the US really should get some testing going otherwise it is going to be widely perceived as of US origin. And you would think the US would want to know if anyone in Yemen is cooking their own nerve gas for many reasons. Mohammed Qatan is a leading reformist member of Islah. France24 has more doctors disputing the possibility that tear gas caused the symptoms of some protesters.

al Baida News: The protesters called for allowing ambulances to transport the injured, and demanded from the Yemeni army forces to protect them from the special forces, security and ruling party militants, according to one of the protesters.

Medical sources said that the U.S. made gas as it is written on it in bottles

To that revealed to Muhammad Qahtan spokesman for the joint opposition bloc that “they have information that the gas in which they are beating the protesters are prepared in private rooms in the special forces led by the son of Yemeni President Ali Ahmed and Dean are being prepared by Iraqi experts.”

Of course I’m wondering if its the same as the old gas from 2005…

Most of the protesters reach to the portable hospital in case of loss of consciousness for short times, dizziness, and significant decrease in blood pressure, cold extremities and shortness in breath.

The protesters whose breath this type of gases (which is first time seen by me, where I am a physician –in medical services of internal ministry), really I don’t have an idea from where this stuff is coming from?

The injuries which are reach us rather than gases accidents are about 6 cases of gun shuts, one of them record a direct head shut, in dangerous status in operation room right now.
And the other 5 cases are 3 of them had a superficial injuries including upper and lower limbs.

And 2-3 cases of “rubber gun shuts” directed to a sensitive areas like lower back.

The police also use the electrical rods on the chest region directly-the police man who are using this electrical tools don’t know that like this voltage of electricity affecting a camel or an ox to fall down- how about this youth who don’t have any type of tools to defense?

Are they cattle prods or are they tasers approved for use on humans?

The massacre in Aden Feb 25-26 killed many. We previously identified 19 by name, and about half of the 122 wounded. With the addition of the three fatalities listed below, the new total is 22 killed. As earlier reported, bodies of dead protesters were collected from hospitals in Aden and sent to Basuhaib Military hospital in Tawahi. The new information is that early Sunday morning, Feb 27, the military buried some of the corpses stored at the Ba-Suhaib military hospital in one grave at a military camp in Salahu Deen just outside little Aden. Many protesters in Aden were arrested, some pulled wounded from hospitals. The state continues to withhold information from families regarding who is in state custody in jail.

1. Mohammed Ahmed Saleh
2. Tareq Khalid Alwan
3. Waseem Ali Taha

in Arabic: (Read on …)