Yemenis eye transition as rival army units clash

Opponents of President Saleh seek a transition rather than more concessions from the Yemeni leader.

SANNA/ADEN:

Opponents of President Ali Abdullah Saleh were seeking a transition on Thursday rather than more concessions from the Yemeni leader, as rival military units clashed in the country's southeast for the second time this week. Medics said two members of the elite Republican Guard loyal to Saleh and an army colonel were wounded as the two sides clashed in Mukalla.

Saleh, who vowed to defend himself by all means, urged military officers and soldiers who defected and joined the opposition to "return to reason," describing their action as "stupid."

The fighting pitted soldiers under the orders of a regional commander who has rallied to the side of anti-Saleh protesters, General Mohammed Ali Mohsen, and the Republican Guards, witnesses said.

Sources close to secret talks on a post-Saleh Yemen said General Mohsen was leading efforts to form a transitional council grouping representatives from all sides.

The opposition has brushed aside new concessions as having come too late and focused on working behind the scenes on a transition which could spare the country a brutal civil war, political sources said.

Ahead of another escalation of violence, Saleh urged his supporters to hold a mass show of support on Friday in a Sanaa square close to his presidential palace. Even if deserted by longtime military, political, tribal and clerical backers, the veteran leader dubbed the event “Friday of Tolerance,” countering the pro-change slogans of anti-regime demonstrators around the Arab world.

Saleh has offered his foes a deal on forming a unity government, drawing up a new electoral law, holding a legislative poll, and his successor to be named by the end of 2011 by newly-elected MPs.

“But we don’t want any more concessions. We just want the president to leave, and quickly,” Rashad al-Sharaabi, a member of a youths’ committee, told AFP. He said behind-the-scenes consultations were taking place for a peaceful transition of power.

General Mohsen himself said he has no desire to take power or hold political office. “I have no more ambition left except to spend the remainder of my life in peace.”

Some protesters have displayed the general’s picture on their tents in the protest encampment in Sanaa, but opposition leaders regard his motives with suspicion and few would want him to have a role in any future transitional government.

In Dubai, police foiled a bid to smuggle 16,000 guns from Turkey to Yemen’s northern province of Saada, the Gulf emirate’s police chief said. Six Arab residents of the UAE have been arrested, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan told a press conference.

In Aden, a policeman was killed and seven others were wounded when their patrol was ambushed on Thursday, a security official told AFP. “A bomb exploded as their vehicle passed through the neighbourhood of Khor Maksar in Aden,” said the official.

In Beijing, China voiced confidence that authorities in Yemen can bring rising unrest under control, while calling for dialogue to quell anti-regime protests rocking the country. “We believe the Yemeni government has the competence to properly handle the issue and restore social stability and normality at an early date,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told journalists.

Germany said it had pulled out all but a “core team” from its embassy in Sanaa due to mounting unrest, following a similar decision by Britain. Russia’s foreign ministry also advised all its citizens to immediately leave Yemen, which it said faced an “escalating trend.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2011.