Ramsco's Women Empowerment Initiative Recognized Among Top BRICS Businesswomen Practices for 2025    Egypt, Elsewedy review progress on Ain Sokhna phosphate complex    Gold prices end July with modest gains    Pakistan says successfully concluded 'landmark trade deal' with US    Egypt's FM, US envoy discuss Gaza ceasefire, Iran nuclear talks    Modon Holding posts AED 2.1bn net profit in H1 2025    Egypt's Electricity Ministry says new power cable for Giza area operational    Egypt's Al-Sisi, Italian defence minister discuss Gaza, security cooperation    Egypt's FM discusses Gaza, Nile dam with US senators    Aid airdrops intensify as famine deepens in Gaza amid mounting international criticism    Health minister showcases AI's impact on healthcare at Huawei Cloud Summit    On anti-trafficking day, Egypt's PM calls fight a 'moral and humanitarian duty'    Federal Reserve maintains interest rates    Egypt strengthens healthcare partnerships to enhance maternity, multiple sclerosis, and stroke care    Egypt keeps Gaza aid flowing, total tops 533,000 tons: minister    Indian Embassy to launch cultural festival in Assiut, film fest in Cairo    Egyptian aid convoy heads toward Gaza as humanitarian crisis deepens    Culture minister launches national plan to revive film industry, modernise cinematic assets    Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Egypt, Oman discuss environmental cooperation    Egypt's EDA explores pharma cooperation with Belarus    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Prospect of civil war draws closer in Yemen
Published in Youm7 on 21 - 09 - 2011

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The grim prospect of civil war in Yemen has drawn closer as mutinous soldiers have become more deeply involved in a rapidly spreading battle against regime forces for control of the capital.
A negotiated cease-fire Tuesday halted three days of fighting that killed dozens of people, but it will not hold without a quick resolution of the key dispute: Who will lead the nation.
A peaceful way out of Yemen's seven-month crisis may not come easily, if at all, making it more likely to be settled in large-scale and ruinous street battles pitting renegade army soldiers and their allied tribal fighters against U.S.-trained forces loyal to embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh and led by his son and one-time heir apparent, Ahmed.
Already, pro-regime forces reinforced their positions in their strongholds in the south of the capital, apparently in anticipation of renewed fighting. The potential for bloody strife has been shown in Yemen since the uprising against Saleh's regime began in February, with hundreds of protesters killed and thousands wounded at the hands of security forces.
In the past three days, pro-regime forces killed more than 70 people, mostly protesters, using anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. At least 23 people were killed in Sanaa on Tuesday as the fighting intensified and spread to sensitive areas of the capital before the cease-fire took hold after nightfall.
In one incident, 13 followers of a tribal leader who changed sides and joined the opposition in March were killed when mortar shells fired by pro-government forces rained down on the upscale Hedah area of southern Sanaa, also home to top regime figures.
"It's a war zone," said Sanaa activist Hakim al-Masmari. "We can't even sit near windows because we could be killed."
Thousands have been forced to flee Sanaa for the relative safety of rural areas. Scores of pickup trucks and cars loaded with families and their belongings were seen early Tuesday heading out of the city, repeatedly shaken by loud explosions overnight.
The United States condemned the violence and called on all parties to exercise restraint. "We urge a prompt, impartial investigation into the events that led to the recent violence," Victoria Nuland, the State Department's spokeswoman, said in a statement Tuesday.
Saleh, Yemen's president for 33 years and a staunch U.S. ally, has clung to power despite tens of thousands taking to the streets nearly daily since February to demand his ouster. At least three times he has backed away at the last minute from endorsing a resignation plan offered by his Gulf Arab neighbors and supported by the United States — handing over power in return for immunity.
He left Yemen in June for neighboring Saudi Arabia to be treated for serious wounds suffered in an attack on his compound. He has not returned to Yemen since, but the presence in Sanaa of his son, Ahmed, and other loyal family members meant the regime continued to fight for its survival.
Much is at stake in Yemen for the United States, its Gulf Arab allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, and the West. Yemen overlooks key shipping lanes in the Red and Arabian seas and is home to one of the world's most dangerous al-Qaida branches, whose militants have staged or inspired a series of attacks on U.S. territory. Already, the chaos has allowed al-Qaida militants to capture and hold a string of towns in nearly lawless southern Yemen.
With the prospect of a peaceful settlement remote, civil war becomes a realistic possibility, given that Yemen is a nation with deep tribal and regional divides, a checkered history of civil strife, and a chronically weak central government.
The nation's north and the once-independent south fought it out in 1994. Another civil war would pit the renegade soldiers of the 1st Armored Division, perhaps the nation's most combat-tested unit, against the Republican Guards led by Ahmed to decide the leadership question.
The 1st Armored Division claims about 20,000 fighters in Sanaa, and, according to security officials, has been training its men in urban warfare for most of the six months since it defected along with its commander, Maj. Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, and joined the anti-Saleh protesters. The division has tanks and armored personnel carriers but they have been hidden across the city to avoid being picked off by regime warplanes.
The Republican Guards boast much more armor, a large arsenal of rockets and about the same number of troops. As a backup, it can draw on the support of the U.S.-trained and equipped Special Forces, another elite unit also led by Saleh's son, and the Presidential Guards, led by Saleh's nephew, Tariq, a commander notorious for brutality.
"The Republican Guards are the superior force on paper," said military expert Hussein Mansour, a retired army brigadier. "But that makes little difference on the ground. It is all about street warfare and combat expertise."
The division, which took part in every war fought in Yemen in the past three decades, also has al-Ahmar for a seasoned commander whose combat experience is complemented by years as Saleh's point man on the country's complex tribal politics.
Ahmed, by contrast, has little combat experience and support outside segments of the military and several small tribes still loyal to him and his father.
The 1st Armored Division has endeared itself to the thousands of protesters camped in Sanaa's central Change Square since its mutiny in March, pledging to protect them from by pro-regime forces.
The protesters have given the division weapons seized this week from a Republican Guards' camp in the city and government buildings as part of a stepped-up campaign against the regime. Unarmed, they also acted as human shields for the soldiers, providing them with cover until new positions in the capital were built and fortified.


Clic here to read the story from its source.