Saturday, March 5, 2011

Killed four protesters at rallies in Yemen

.- The Yemeni army opened fire on demonstrators on Friday, killing four of them north of Sanaa, while the rest of the country hundreds of thousands of people were mobilized for and against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Opposition leaders demanded the resignation of Saleh, who ruled the country for 32 years, felt that the incident shows that the president rejected an opposition proposal to relinquish power before the end of the year and thus overcome the current crisis.

However, analysts felt that the president, despite being weakened, is still able to retain power. The four protesters fell under the bullets of the soldiers defending a military position in the town of Semla, part of the city of Harf Sufian, about 170 km north of Sanaa, according to the Shiite rebellion and a local .

Seven other protesters were injured in the march organized by zaiditas rebels, members of a branch of Shiism fighting the regime since 2004 and joined the demonstration against Saleh on 21 February. On its website, said the Shiite rebellion that the shots came from the military position had left "dozens of victims killed and wounded," without giving a precise balance.

Rise of the zaiditas (members of a branch of Shiism) in northern Yemen joined the protest movement that takes place throughout the country for several weeks to demand the departure of Saleh, in power for 32 years. In Sanaa, the day was marked by two events and prayers hostile and friendly regime of President Saleh.

Opposite the university, the epicenter of the revolt, hundreds of thousands, according to organizers, attended the weekly prayer. "Do not leave this place until the fall of the corrupt and the tyrants," he said in his sermon, Sheikh Yahya Al Dulaimi, speaking to the crowd that filled the main square.

However, analysts say, is not yet say for certain that Saleh's regime will end falling. "Obviously the situation is very unfavorable" to the Yemeni president, said Christopher Boucek, Middle East program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "But I also think it's premature to say that the word is out and that Saleh was going to have to go," he added.

For Ibrahim Sharqieh, Brookings Doha Center, "a significant shift in the balance of power in recent days, the tribal leaders to join the Revolution." Saleh "has lost much power in the tribal area, a crucial sector in the bidding for him with the protesters, estimated Sharqieh. However, Saleh "has not lost everything," and that "still controls important institutions like the army," he added.

In addition, Boucek stressed, "unlike what happened in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, I think that Yemen still has the support of the international community, the United States and Saudi Arabia, among others." "While the U.S. and Saudi Arabia continue to support President Saleh, is not going to go" he said.

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