Two international envoys arrived in Yemen earlier this week after conflicting parties went to war, reports Nasser Arrabyee United Nations envoy Jamal Bin Omar and head of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdel-Latif Al-Zauani arrived in Sanaa only to see bloodshed and hear explosions almost around the clock. Both of them were a little bit late. They were supposed to arrive before the breakout of the war to help Yemen's conflicting parties reach an agreement on a mechanism previously suggested by Bin Omar for implementing a Saudi-led GCC deal for transferring the power from President Ali Abdullah Saleh through democratic elections. The "still controllable" war erupted while the opposition leaders and the ruling party were in their talks about an authorisation decree issued earlier this month from President Saleh to his deputy for preparing for electing a new president by the end of this year. Two influential leaders from the opposition not involved in the talks with the vice president were obviously behind this violence which killed more than 50 Yemenis and injured hundreds of others so far during three days of fierce clashes in which all kinds of weapons were used. These two effective leaders, ex- general Ali Mohsen and tribal leader Hamid Al-Ahmar, felt they were ignored and excluded from the talks especially after the arrival of the two international envoys Bin Omar and Al-Zayani. Hamid Al-Ahmar, who has been financing and orchestrating the anti-Saleh protests, said on his satellite TV that the two envoys "must leave" the country immediately if they came to bring Yemenis back to dialogue. For Mohsen, his troops are in direct confrontations with Saleh's forces in many streets around the sit-in square at the gate of Sanaa University for the first time since he defected. His troops closed the university and dismissed the students and professors on the first day of the new academic year, 17 September, and turned it into a military barrack. The two leaders were also behind what was called the "revolutionary action and end" of the eight-month long peaceful protests demanding the ouster of President Saleh. In a secret document leaked to media this week, Hamid Al-Ahmar asked Mohsen to arm 3,000 young man from the protesters to protect the "the revolutionary end" demonstrations which started Sunday and led to the current war. Last May, with his armed tribesmen and 10 brothers, Hamid Al-Ahmar himself led a two-week war against Saleh's forces around his palace in Al-Hasaba, in which about 150 people were killed from both sides. Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdel-Aziz imposed a truce on both sides after President Saleh arrived in Riyadh for treatment from injuries he suffered in the 3 June failed assassination attempt, which Hamid Al-Ahmar and Ali Mohsen were accused of plotting. The May war was locally known as Al-Ahmar/Saleh war and this war is known now as Ali Mohsen-Saleh war. When it comes to war, no one talks about the opposition parties or about the independent young people who demand the ouster of Saleh. Both Saudi Arabia and the United States are doing their best to contain the situation and stop the "seemingly controllable" war between two armies and armed supporters of both sides. In a statement, the US embassy in Sanaa called upon all parties to exercise restraint, and refrain from actions that provoke further violence. "We reject actions that undermine productive efforts underway to achieve a political resolution to the current crisis," said the US embassy statement. "The United States continues to support a peaceful and orderly transition in Yemen, one which addresses the Yemeni people's aspirations for peace and security. We remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached that leads to the signing of the GCC Initiative within one week." From his side, the Saudi king who met President Saleh in Riyadh earlier this week immediately after the war erupted in Sanaa, showed support for Yemen's security and stability and unity, according to the Saudi news agency. Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar and Parliamentary Speaker Yehia Al-Rayee attended the meeting. Both Mujawar and Al-Rayee are still recovering in Saudi Arabia from injuries they suffered in the June assassination attempt. And although what's going now in Sanaa seems like a war between two big forces in addition to armed tribesmen involved from both sides, the government keeps saying it's only the security forces which confront the rebel troops and their armed supporters. The government denies that the republican guards, led by Saleh's son Ahmed Ali, are participating in the ongoing street confrontations. Although this republican guard forces is clearly deployed in the streets. "The security forces are responsible for protecting the capital from the rebel troops, the extremists of the Muslim Brotherhood and the sons of Al-Ahmar," said an official statement. On his part, Deputy Minister of Information Abdel-Janadi said that this war was planned in order to thwart the efforts being exerted now by Vice President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi to reach a compromise with the opposition parties for preparing for presidential elections according to the UN and GCC suggestions. Although the opposition publicly refuse any dialogue or initiative now and insist only on what they called "revolutionary action and end", their leaders are still involved in the talks going on now despite the war. "Talks are still going on with all parties, and a solution will be reached in less than a week," said a senior official involved in the talks.
