The city that first championed the
call to oust Yemen’s stalwart president became a war zone Thursday, as
residents hid in their basements to escape hours of government shelling
and clashes with armed tribal forces.
Taiz, considered the country’s
intellectual hub, is where demonstrations among disenfranchised
university students began 10 months ago against Ali Abdullah Saleh and
where the government’s retaliation has been fierce.
“Taiz is going through a real war
right now,” Sultan Al-Sami’e, a member of parliament in Taiz, said in a
telephone interview Thursday night.
“The businesses and stores are
completely shut down. Right now they’re shelling the western side of the
city,” he said. “People are so frightened. They’re staying in their
houses.”
Al-Sami’e claimed shelling targeted
two hospitals and children and women were among the victims. Estimates
of how many had been killed varied, but Yemeni officials told the
Associated Press there were 13 confirmed deaths.
Tribal fighters in Taiz have united
to combat government forces and Yemen’s defence ministry said five
soldiers were among those killed in Thursday’s fighting.
This spike in violence comes in the
wake of a power-transfer deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council,
which Saleh signed in Saudi Arabia last week. Saleh was given immunity
in return for the immediate transfer of executive power to the
vice-president and his resignation following February elections.
But many Yemenis remain skeptical
that the politically wily president, who has a history of breaking
promises to step down and who has ruled this poor Arab nation for three
decades, intends to surrender power.
Al-Sami’e accused the regime Thursday
of trying to spark a civil war with opposition and tribal forces in
Taiz by bombarding the city.
“Saleh is trying to avoid
implementing the GCC agreement by igniting this civil war. With a civil
war, new initiatives will be needed,” he argued. “People here know this
man and they believe the president never keeps his promises.”
Shafika Al-Qadasi, a well-known figure among the protesters in the city’s Liberty Square, said Taiz remained on edge Thursday.
“The government claims that the
shelling is happening because of the tribal elements that are spread
across the city,” she said in a telephone interview. “In my opinion,
even if there are, that doesn’t justify shelling with heavy military
equipment and random shelling and killing of civilians.”
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