Yemeni protesters seize military base

Sep 19, 2011, 21:34 GMT

Cairo/Sana'a - Thousands of opposition protesters backed by military defectors late Monday seized a base of the elite Republican Guards who are loyal to President Ali Abdallah Saleh in the capital, Arab media reported.

Just hours after 32 protesters were killed by Yemeni troops, the protesters and ex-soldiers stormed the base without firing a single shot, Al Arabiya quoted witnesses as saying. The Republican guards fled the base, leaving their weapons behind, the channel said.

The storming of the base considerably escalated the conflict and showed that Yemeni protesters are more determined than ever to topple President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-year-old regime.

Saleh went to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment after a June attack on his Sanaa compound and has not returned to Yemen, but has resisted calls to resign.

The Republican Guards and the Special Forces are led by the president Saleh's son.

In Sana'a, the capital, 28 people were killed, including a 10-month-old baby and a TV cameraman, when troops opened fire at protesters, activists at the field hospital told the German Press Agency dpa.

It followed Sunday's attack on protestors that killed 26 people. Afterwards, the government called the attack a prelude to civil war.

Yemen's deputy information minister, Abdu al-Janadi, insisted that the young people killed were being used by those who aspire to seize power, the state-run SABA news agency reported.

Al-Janadi described the most recent violence in the country as a 'crazy conflict over power' and that those 'who call themselves protectors of the revolution have turned into killers, thieves and bandits.'

'What happened (Sunday) in the capital is a prelude to civil war planned by those who aspire to seize power and wealth,' he said.

Al-Janadi accused General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who leads a group of army defectors, of using al-Qaeda members to infiltrate the protesters and attack security.

The Gulf Cooperation Council brokered a deal last spring that aimed at ensuring a peaceful transition of power, and provided immunity to Saleh against prosecution. Protesters rejected the deal, saying Saleh should be put on trial for the death of around 450 people since anti-government rallies began in February.

Last week, a Western diplomat told dpa that Saleh would not return to Yemen and will transfer powers to the vice president within 10 days.

The opposition said they will keep the protest movement alive and out on the streets until Saleh and 'his political team' leave office.