Yemen president refuses to go as gunfights raise fears of war

Residents flee capital city of Sana’a as bloody clashes continue over future of President Ali Abdullah Saleh Yemen’s president has vowed to resist pressure from armed opposition tribes after a third day of bloody clashes in the capital, Sana’a, insisting he will not step down or leave the country. Residents are fleeing the city in large numbers amid gun battles which have already killed at least 50 people, with the airport also choked with foreign nationals trying to escape. Fears of civil war were fanned further late on Wednesday as troops loyal to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, began firing on defecting government forces. Saleh said he would not allow Yemen to become a “failed state” or a refuge for al-Qaida. “I will not leave power and I will not leave Yemen,” he said in a brief statement released by aides. Saleh also rounded on the US, a former ally which is pressuring him to leave office, saying: “I don’t take orders from outside.” He also pledged to stop the violence “dragging the country into a civil war”. In a severe escalation to the three-month-long uprising against the president’s 33-year rule, government security forces have waged gun battles in recent days against fighters loyal to Yemen’s most powerful tribal leader, who has backed calls for the president’s removal. Gunfire continued in streets around the heavily defended mansion of Sadiq al-Ahmar, head of the Saleh’s own Hashid tribal federation. Some tribal fighters remain holed up in the munitions-marker compound in the eastern neighbourhood of Hasaba, but others now control nearby streets, covering a series of government buildings. In the north of the capital Saleh’s troops opened fire on the 1st armoured brigade, under the command of a former loyalist, Major General Ali Mohsin. Following a shelling on Tuesday night which killed 10 tribesman Ahmar’s compound was in disarray, with burned-out 4×4 vehicles in the courtyard, a swimming pool filled with rubble and camels and peacocks wandering about amid the confusion. The tribal fighters nonetheless remain well supplied. Toyota pickup trucks filled with cartons of juice, fig rolls and boxes of ammunition entered the compound throughout the day. The conflict appears to be the climax of long-souring relations between the president and the Ahmar clan, which are believed to be bankrolling the opposition as well as supporting the upkeep of the hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters camping out in Sana’a. The conflict is steadily escalating, with both sides occupying more ground and bombarding the other more frequently, using a combination of machine guns, snipers and mortars. “Saleh would like to start a war on the tribes,” said Muhammad Abdel Qadhi, a sheikh the president’s own tribe, the Sanhan. “But he will fail. No leader in Yemen has ever been able to defeat the tribes.” The chaos in the capital has prompted many locals to flee, with long lines of cars lining up on roads leaving the city, bags piled high on their roofs. “It’s no longer possible to stay in Sana’a. The confrontations will reach all parts of the city,” said one driver, Murad Abdullah, heading out of the city. Rivalling Pakistan and Afghanistan as an incubator of and shelter for al-Qaida, Yemen shows signs of becoming a serious international threat. Even before the popular uprising, its economy was prostrate and the government, reliant on foreign aid and dwindling revenue from oil, was running out of the cash needed to keep its patronage system going. The clashes, in the sandbagged streets surrounding Ahmar’s compound in Sana’s, erupted after Saleh refused on Sunday at the last minute to sign the Gulf-brokered deal that would ease him out of power within a month. Although he has backed out of previous deals, the latest turnabout was the one that most angered mediators, since loyalist gunmen had earlier trapped western and Arab diplomats in the United Arab Emirates embassy for several hours. Saleh, however, claims that the deal remained on the table. “I am ready to sign within a national dialogue and a clear mechanism,” he said. “If the mechanism is sound, we will sign the transition of power deal and we will give up power.” The opposition had warned that attacks by loyalist forces could trigger a civil war and crush hopes for a political solution to the revolt, inspired by protests that swept aside the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia. The next step, according to one analyst, could be the intervention of neighbouring Saudi Arabia to bring about Saleh’s exit and avoid civil war. “Riyadh will not keep watching for long. They have their own network with tribal leaders in Yemen. The next step will be strong intervention from Riyadh to defuse the tension,” said Khaled Fattah a researcher at the University of St Andrews. Saleh, he added, “has reached the stage when he is unable to defuse the tension domestically and [is causing more] headaches than before. So I think the Saudis will interfere in the coming few days.” Yemen Middle East Arab and Middle East unrest Peter Walker Matthew Weaver Tom Finn guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.