YEMEN’S EMBATTLED president survived an apparent attempt to kill him yesterday as fighting intensified in Sanaa amid warnings the country was sliding inexorably into all-out war.
Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 32 years, emerged defiant from his compound in the capital after it was attacked. Shells or a missile hit a mosque inside, killing three guards and a cleric and lightly injuring Mr Saleh and two other senior government figures.
The incident fuelled growing anxieties that the Arab uprisings, which have brought dramatic changes to Egypt and Tunisia, are turning Yemen – already the Arab world’s poorest country – into something far more volatile and dangerous.
The government was quick to accuse Mr Saleh’s bitter rival, Hamid al-Ahmar of the opposition Islah party, of launching the attack, and government forces shelled his mansion in Sanaa.
“The al-Ahmars have committed a great crime, and crossed a red line,” said Tareq al-Shami, a government spokesman. “This was an attempted coup and the government will take all necessary measures.” Sadeq al-Ahmar, head of the powerful Hashid tribal federation, blamed Mr Saleh himself for the shelling, saying it was carried out to help justify the government’s escalation of streetfighting in the capital.
Mr Saleh, who was treated at a military hospital, was reported to be preparing to give a press conference later. Claims of his death were first reported by an opposition TV station and made headlines around the world before being denied.
Abdul Ghani al-Iryani, a Yemeni political analyst, told al-Jazeera it was “quite reasonable to assume” that Mr Ahmar’s fighters were behind the palace attack. “[The tribesmen] probably wanted him to know that [Saleh] can no longer attack them with impunity, and that they can reach him as he can reach them,” Mr Iryani said.
Other regional analysts say the chances for a democratic or peaceful transition of power in Yemen are slim.
It was a violent end to a violent week. On Thursday government jets strafed roads and villages north of Sanaa as thousands of tribesmen tried to enter the capital to fight Saleh loyalists. Residents described an atmosphere of fear and alarm at food shortages and rising prices.
Mr Saleh has reneged on a deal brokered by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states under which he would step down in return for an amnesty to be followed by free elections.
The US, which has leaned on the Yemeni leader in its fight against al-Qaeda, has increased pressure for Mr Saleh to go, blaming the bloodshed on his backpedalling from the deal. The EU is also pushing hard for him to implement it.
The latest violence is likely to persuade neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which has strong ties with the Yemeni tribes, to strongly press Mr Saleh to step aside, and so avert disaster in a country where half of the 23 million population owns a gun.
The attack on the president came after Friday prayers, with heavy artillery repeatedly striking the presidential compound and shaking nearby buildings. – ( Guardianservice)