Sanaa, Yemen – Yemen's capital city sank toward anarchy Tuesday as rival armies fought pitched battles in a neighborhood of middle-class homes and government offices in the worst violence to sweep this city since anti-government protests began nearly four months ago.
Forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh shelled the compound of the country's leading tribal sheikh, while forces loyal to Sheikh Sadeq al Ahmar stormed nearby government buildings.
By Tuesday evening, the Interior Ministry was in flames and the Ministry of Industry and the offices of Yemenia Airlines and the Saba news agency were severely damaged. Transiting the city was nearly impossible, and many people were trapped away from their homes as night fell.
At least 38 people were killed Tuesday, including one tribal sheikh taking part in mediation efforts at Ahmar's house.
“It is total war,” said one resident of the district where Ahmar's house is located, describing both sides as leveling heavy artillery and rocket-propelled grenades at one another. “It is even worse than yesterday.”
Protesters who've occupied a sprawling camp near the entrance to Sanaa University since February were not involved in the combat, but the sit-in's generally festive atmosphere gave way to anxiety.
“We are worried, of course, we are worried,” said Mohamed Nasser, one of the protest movement's leaders. “If they attack the sit-in, who will protect us?”
What touched off the fighting remained unclear. On Sunday, Saleh refused to sign an agreement, brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, that would have led to his exit from power after 32 years in the presidency. But that refusal wasn't seen as the direct cause of the fighting, which erupted outside Ahmar's house on Monday.
Neither side offered an explanation for what had sparked the battle, but both sides said the other was responsible for the provocation.
The fighting underscored the complexity of Yemen's political landscape, which features not only the months-long sit-in against Saleh, but long-running secession battles in both the north and south, an Islamist insurrection that features an al Qaida affiliate, as well as a myriad of tribal rivalries and alliances.
Sheikh Ahmar declared support for anti-Saleh demonstrators in March — despite the fact that his father, Abdullah, had been a close Saleh ally. When his father died, Ahmar became the leader of the powerful Hashid tribal federation, and his family's relationship with Saleh has grown increasingly tense.
The open fighting stoked fears that the country, once one of the United States' closest allies in the war on terrorism, would suffer a complete collapse of security. Yemen has the world's second highest rate of gun ownership and most tribal leaders command the loyalty of their own bands of armed tribesman.
Hundreds of tribesman joined Tuesday's fighting on Ahmar's side, and there were reports that hundreds more might be heading toward the city from the sheikh's powerbase northwest of the capital in the town of Amran.
Yet many anti-government tribesmen also reiterated their commitment to non-violent protest.
“When we came to the square, we left our guns at home,” said Ahmed Ismail Sharifeldin, a member of the Hamdan tribe, a part of the Hashid federation, who joined the anti-government sit-in near the university with members of his village in February. “We do not plan on going back to get them.”
Still, the fighting, though fierce, remained concentrated in a single district in Sanaa, and demonstrators took pains to express their dedication to remaining out of it.
“The fighting remains between tribes,” said Adel al Surabi, a spokesman for Yemen's youthful demonstrators. “While we respect the right of someone to defend their house against attack, we remain committed to our peaceful revolution. Unfortunately, however, it seems that Ali Abdullah Saleh will not leave the country without burning it.”
Gregory Johnsen, a Princeton-based Yemen expert, echoed Surabi, saying Saleh is increasingly desperate about remaining in power.
“Today's event show that Saleh's back is now against the wall,” he said. “Judging from today's events, it appears that things will likely escalate from here.”
(Baron is a McClatchy special correspondent.)
Truthout has licensed this content. It may not be reproduced by any other source and is not covered by our Creative Commons license.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
Journalism is a linchpin of that movement. Even as we are reeling, we’re summoning up all the energy we can to face down what’s coming, because we know that one of the sharpest weapons against fascism is publishing the truth.
There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
After the election, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
It will be a tough, scary four years to produce social justice-driven journalism. We need to deliver news, strategy, liberatory ideas, tools and movement-sparking solutions with a force that we never have had to before. And at the same time, we desperately need to protect our ability to do so.
We know this is such a painful moment and donations may understandably be the last thing on your mind. But we must ask for your support, which is needed in a new and urgent way.
We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
Please dig deep if you can, but a donation of any amount will be a truly meaningful and tangible action in this cataclysmic historical moment.
We’re with you. Let’s do all we can to move forward together.
With love, rage, and solidarity,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy