Yemenis protest killing of civilians

[JCMach1]

Source: The National

Thousands of people took to the streets of southern Yemen yesterday to denounce a recent military operation against suspected al Qa’eda militants which locals said claimed the lives of dozens of innocent civilians.

According to local sources, about 3,000 people in Dhal’e province and hundreds in Lahj and Abyan provinces condemned the military operation. Angry protesters shouted anti-government slogans and demanded an investigation into the attack.

The Yemeni authorities said on Thursday they had launched military raids against al Qa’eda training camps in the Abyan village of al Maajala, some 480km south-east of the capital Sana’a, and in Arhab district, 60km to the north-east of Sana’a.

The operations killed up to 34 suspected militants, including four would-be suicide bombers hiding in Arhab, who had planned to attack domestic and foreign interests in the country, including foreign schools, and led to the arrest of 17 others, according to government officials.

The Yemeni military’s website put the number of arrested suspects at 29, including four suspected al Qa’eda militants targeted by the Thursday operation who had been found in Yemeni hospitals in the southern port city of Aden after they were taken to hospital by their families.

The Southern Movement, which hopes to secede from the north, said the raids were an attack on the people of the south, not al Qa’eda.

“This is genocide, targeting the people of the south. We have called all the people of the south to denounce this attack in massive protests on Monday . We urge the international community to investigate this massacre,” said Abbass al Asal, a leading politician in the Southern Movement...

Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091220/FOREIGN/712199838/1002

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The Obama administration has been boondoggled by the Saudis to support the dictator, Al Saleh, in the multi-sided civil war that's going on.

Note, the Southern movement contains most of the Leftist elements in Yemen.

[PDJane]

1. They should be protesting.

We should all be protesting.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

3. Perhaps we should await an official report before doing so?

[JCMach1]

6. Here is another report for you...

http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091218/FOREIGN/712179866

It is clear that these attacks were coordinated in concert with the government. While Yemen is an unmitigated mess (including Al Quaeda presence), be assured that the U.S. is backing yet another dictator in his attempt to hold onto power.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

13. Thanks

Always unfortunate when civilians are killed and I think it's fair to question whether or not an air strike was the right choice in this instance, despite the fact that six senior al-Qaeda figures were killed.

A question though, are there instances in which we ought to back dictators? After all, it's not as if al-Qaeda is fighting to open government up to more people.

[ShortnFiery]

2. Yes, killing innocents is quite egregious not to mention Summary Executions without a Trial.

Tell me ---> How are these BOMBINGS keeping Americans safer?

It seems that we are CREATING more "terrorists" than we are KILLING?

[truth2power]

5. It's not about keeping us safer. n/t

[JCMach1]

4. I don't know of any source in the world that is doing a better job than The National

at covering the crisis in Yemen right now. You can search their site for their on the ground in-depth reports.

[Vidar]

7. Obama is becoming a terrorist just like Bush was.

[JCMach1]

8. That's a bit harsh, but his policies have changed little vis a vis

the Middle-East

[Dangerman]

14. Agreed.

I voted for Obama for for he to backstab me.

[democrank]

9. Very disturbing

but George Bush must be proud.

[Ian David]

10. Didn't Yemen allow the USS Cole bombers to escape from prison & then pardon the one who came back?

[KoKo]

11. Very Upsetting. Send drones in and kill anything in drone's path.

Based on what? Why do this? Like a video war game. Sovereign countries mean nothing to the DC War Machine. And Congress allows this. In our name...with our tax dollars.

[David Zephyr]

15. Yes.

It's different when we rain down terror in our mission against our enemies and civilians and children die than what they did to us on 9/11?

The fuzzy logic, the shifting morality has stained any pretense of what we are doing anymore.

Nothing has changed.

[undeterred]

12. Awful.