Al Qaeda Has Gained Control of Yemeni Town, Source Says

[JBeukema]

Terrorists aligned with Al Qaeda are in control of Jaar, the historical capital of the Yemen province of Abyan, a Yemeni official briefed on the intelligence data told Fox News.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the terrorist group's branch in Yemen, has taken hold of the town, along with former elements of a group known as Aden-Abyan Islamic Army. The Yemeni military is actively negotiating with the groups, who have yet to gain control of the entire province, the official says.

Al Qaeda Has Gained Control of Yemeni Town, Source Says - FoxNews.com

 

[Mad Scientist]

Are they our Al Qaida fighters or the enemies Al Qaida? Who am I supposed to cheer for?

 

[JBeukema]

Are they our Al Qaida fighters or the enemies Al Qaida? Who am I supposed to cheer for?

Who the fuck knows anymore?

 

[High_Gravity]

I thought Al Qaeda already controlled half that country?

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Cool. So our CIA has control of a Yemen township?

 

[waltky]

Yemen comin' apart at the seams...

Dozens Dead, Wounded as Yemen on Brink of Civil War
May 26, 2011 - Dozens are dead or wounded as mounting violence in Yemen is taking on new dimensions. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is calling for the arrest of a powerful tribal chieftain whose clan has been battling government soldiers for days. Concerns are rising that the nation is facing all-out civil war.

The orders to arrest Sadiq al-Ahmar came on the fourth day that heavy fighting between members of the sheikh's Hashid tribe and government forces rocked the capital. Government officials have accused al-Ahmar and his supporters of staging an armed rebellion. The sheikh's brother, Hussein al-Ahmar, says it's the government which has been doing the attacking. Hussein al-Ahmar, speaking on U.S. government-funded al-Hurra television, says Mr. Saleh is no longer in a position to issue orders, nor is he capable of arresting any member of the Ahmar clan. He says the president has lost his legitimacy. The street battles of recent days and the tribal nature of the clashes mark a sharp escalation in the unrest. Some Sana'a residents have been fleeing the capital, while the U.S. embassy has ordered all non-essential personnel to leave the country.

Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in overnight fighting, while dozens of others are said to have died in the clashes in previous days. The al-Ahmars' Hashid tribe, of which Mr. Saleh is a member, is among the most influential in Yemen. Leaders early on in the four-month uprising sided with anti-government protesters, whose initial goal was to usher in reforms, but now want Mr. Saleh's more than three decades in power to end. The president says the country will be dragged into civil war if he leaves, but even as battles raged, protesters Thursday continued to hold demonstrations. Protesters kept a chant calling for Mr. Saleh to go. The president has said three times he is willing to transition away from the leadership, in a deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council. But he has each time backed out at the last minute, most recently on Sunday.

The protesters, who took their inspiration from the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, have remained out on the streets throughout, even as their movement, like those in Syria and Bahrain, has been thwarted. Protester Abdullah Mohammad accuses the government of wanting a civil war. He says the people don't want a conflict, just the end of what he calls the corrupt regime. Fellow demonstrator Raja Saleh says Yemen is already on its way to civil war. She says it could be avoided if President Saleh signs the GCC deal. Mr. Saleh went on Yemeni television Wednesday to say he is still ready to go along with the plan.

But the president says the initiative first needs a framework in order to be implemented. Many of Mr. Saleh's opponents believe he is simply stalling, hoping the growing divisions will further his argument that only he can ensure stability. Hussein al-Ahmar, of the Hashid tribe, says that no matter what Mr. Saleh does, he ultimately will not dictate the fortunes of a nation run by tribal factions. He says the president has tried several times in recent months to provoke a civil war and has been searching for a pretext. Al-Ahmar says he won't be able to do so, as he has no control over anything outside the capital - where tribal allegiances dominate. With street battles consuming some neighborhoods, and demonstrators camped out in others, it's not clear how much of even the capital Mr. Saleh controls.

Source

 

[Trajan]

yup, Yemen is blowing up........we have a stake in this, Saleh was an 'Allie' but he was a reluctant duplicitous one. This is worrying. Yemen and Bahrain were always more important grand tactically, strategically and in just about every other way I can think of to us than Libya....now, we have to sit idly by.

Yemen Fighting Intensifies on More Fronts , At Least 20 Killed | Middle East In Transition | English

 

[bluemoon22]

The story is nonsense. The Yemenis are uprising against their Tyrant government. There is a negligible number of Al Qaeda types in Yemen that the uprising can take care of themselves.

The people want food, drink, jobs etc.

 

[waltky]

Yo Ali, take a hint - ya ain't welcome no more...

Yemen President Wounded in Rocket Strike
Friday, June 03, 2011 (AP) - A government official says Yemen's president was lightly injured and four top officials wounded when opposition tribesmen struck his palace with rockets.

It was the first time that tribesmen have targeted President Ali Abdullah Saleh's palace in nearly two weeks of heavy fighting with government troops in the capital.

The official says the rockets hit while officials were praying at a mosque inside the palace compound.

He says Saleh, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, the parliament chief and a presidential aide were wounded -- Saleh lightly, while the deputy prime minister and aide's wounds were serious. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Yemen President Wounded in Rocket Strike | CNSnews.com

 

[waltky]

Granny says tell him 'don't let the door hit ya onna butt onna way out'...

Yemen president leaves country for Saudi Arabia
4 June`11 - Saudi monarch intervenes in attempt to contain raging military conflict that has swept the capital

A flurry of conflicting reports about the Yemeni president's whereabouts and condition spread through the Middle East on Saturday after Saudi King Abdullah announced that he had mediated a cease-fire to end deadly street battles. Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh was expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia for treatment for wounds he suffered during an attack on the presidential palace Friday. In latest developments, Saleh's Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had taken over as acting president and supreme commander of the armed forces, Al Jazeera reported Saturday, citing unspecified sources.

For months, Saleh has defied intense pressure from his powerful Gulf neighbors and longtime ally Washington to step down. He agreed to transfer power several times, only to step back at the last moment. Should he leave the country now, he might never return, given that large segments of the population and a powerful tribal alliance could engineer his ouster while he's gone. The extent of Saleh's injuries has been a matter of intense speculation. When the rocket struck the mosque in his presidential compound and splintered the pulpit, he was surrounded by top government officials and bodyguards. Eleven guards died, and five officials standing nearby were seriously wounded and taken to Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni ruling party officials and rebel tribesmen say Abdullah mediated a one-week cease-fire between the warring forces of Saleh and the anti-government opposition. The Saudi monarch intervened in an attempt to contain a raging military conflict that has swept the capital over the past week. Abdullah stepped in shortly after Saleh's presidential palace compound was hit by a rebel rocket attack on Friday. Saleh was slightly injured, and 11 security guards were killed. Five other top officials were sent to Saudi Arabia for treatment.

Brink of civil war