The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

The mysterious identity of the "King of the North" and "Small Horn" discussed here. The "Great War" of Daniel 10:1 (NIV) discussed here. The heavenly & earthly establishment of God's Kingdom discussed here at length. Answers such questions as when does Jesus' Kingdom Rule begin and end.

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Mary
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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#31 Post by Mary » Sun May 29, 2011 4:54 pm

Report: Al-Qaeda Group Seizes Yemeni Provincial Capital


May 28, 2011, 23:03 GMT
Article Source
Middle East News

Sana'a/Cairo - A Yemeni provincial capital has fallen to an al-Qaeda-linked militant group, a Yemeni news website reported Saturday.

Citing a security officer speaking on condition of anonymity, the Yemen Observer said that Zinjubar, the seat of Abyan province, was seized by armed members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a Yemeni-based affiliate of the global terrorist network al-Qaeda.

The militants took control of government installations and most districts Friday in the city, which is 400 kilometres east of the Yemeni capital Sana'a and 80 kilometres east of the key southern Yemeni port of Aden.

'Al-Qaeda took over the province, the security, the rescue police and other key headquarters,' the security officer was quoted as saying.

Abyan Governor Ahmed al-Misari was described as trapped inside his residence outside Zinjubar.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has been highly active in Abyan province since the outbreak in February of unrest against embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh, reportedly killing dozens of government troops in fighting during the last three months.

The use of force by the government against street protests has turned increasingly deadly in recent weeks.

The Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), Yemen's main opposition bloc, issued a statement accusing Saleh of knowing allowing al-Qaeda militants to seize Zinjubar, in an attempt to convince Western powers that his rule is necessary to keep the terrorist group at bay.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#32 Post by Mary » Sun May 29, 2011 5:07 pm

Yemen Rebel Generals: Saleh Let Abyan Fall

Image
Yemeni soldiers who defected to join anti-government
protesters shout slogans at a rally (AFP, Ahmad Gharabli)
By Jamal al-Jaberi (AFP)
Article Source
May 28, 2011

SANAA — Dissident generals on Sunday accused Yemen's embattled president of surrendering Abyan province to "terrorists" after suspected Al-Qaeda militants took its capital, and called for others to defect.

A security official said that more than 200 suspected Al-Qaeda gunmen seized control of the southern city of Zinjibar, Abyan's capital, in fighting that has left 21 dead.

In "Statement Number One," the generals led by General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar accused President Ali Abdullah Saleh of "surrendering Abyan to an armed terrorist group" and urged army forces "to join the peaceful popular revolution."

They also called on the army to fight the "terrorists" in Abyan.

Several generals, including Ahmar who commands troops that control part of Sanaa, have pledged support for protesters calling for Saleh to quit.

But the Republican Guards and other elite units commanded by Saleh family members have remained loyal.
Image
Yemeni anti-regime mourners carry the coffin of a fighter loyal to top dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar (AFP, Ahmad Gharabli)
Police on Sunday shot dead four anti-regime protesters and wounded dozens more in Yemen's second largest city of Taez, south of Sanaa, medics said.

The "Youth of the Revolution" group said about 3,000 people gathered outside a police station to demand the release of a detained protester and that police fired into the crowd when they refused to leave, killing three.

A fourth demonstrator was shot dead in the city's nearby Tahrir Square.

The security official and witnesses said Zinjibar had fallen to militants who may be Al-Qaeda fighters.

The fighters "were able to gain control of the city of Zinjibar... and took over all government facilities," except for the 25th mechanised brigade headquarters which is besieged by militants, the security official said.

Witnesses said gunmen were still battling members of the besieged brigade.

"We will fight until the last bullet, and we will not surrender to the gunmen who killed our colleagues," a brigade officer reached by telephone said.

A medic said five civilians were killed and 15 wounded in shelling between the brigade and suspected Al-Qaeda fighters on Sunday.
Image
Anti-government protesters shout slogans as they hold up an
image of a killed soldier in Sanaa (AFP, Ahmad Gharabli)
Residents reported heavy fighting in Zinjibar on Friday and Saturday, and said the attackers had freed dozens of prisoners from the main jail.

One witness said on condition of anonymity that the gunmen executed soldiers who surrendered, and that residents were not able to bury them.

"Most of the residents of Zinjibar have left," another said.

Nazir Ahmed Said, who fled to the south's main city Aden, told AFP he left because Zinjibar "is under the control of gunmen who say they are from Al-Qaeda."

The security official, who said he was among the last security officials to quit Zinjibar, estimated that more than 200 militants had attacked the city.

"The lack of concern from the authorities is unfortunate," he said, adding that "the leadership in Abyan province left the area before it exploded."

Five soldiers and a civilian were killed on Friday, two other security officials said, and Zinjibar residents said they found the bodies of 10 soldiers, bringing the toll from the fighting there to at least 21.

One official said that another two soldiers were killed on Friday in clashes with suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Loder, also in Abyan province.

In a statement, the Common Forum parliamentary opposition coalition blamed Saleh for the situation in Zinjibar, but said he had "delivered Zinjibar to groups that he has formed and armed, to continue to utilise the spectre of Al-Qaeda to frighten regional and international parties."

Since January, Saleh has faced protests calling for him to stand down after 33 years in office.

On May 22, he refused to sign a Gulf Cooperation Council-sponsored accord that would have seen him cede power within 30 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Image
The following day, fighting erupted in Sanaa between security forces and followers of opposition tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, who heads the powerful Hashid federation.

Ahmar's fighters seized various government buildings between May 23 and 26, but on Sunday began vacating them following tribal mediation mediator Sheikh Abdullah Badr al-Din told AFP.

Several buildings were heavily damaged in Al-Hasaba area where the fighting was centred, including Ahmar's residence, the interior ministry, the official news agency Saba and the offices of the Yemenia national airline, an AFP correspondent said.

In other areas of Sanaa, roadblocks were set up by forces loyal to the president and by dissident army units, with both deploying heavy armour and machine guns.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#33 Post by Mary » Sun May 29, 2011 5:10 pm

Al Qaeda, Ismamic Militants Take Over Yemeni City


Sun May 29, 2011 7:30am GMT
Article Source
Rueters Africa

SANAA May 29 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda and Islamic militants have taken over the Yemni coastal town of Zinjibar, residents told Reuters on Sunday.

"About 300 Islamic millitants and Al Qaeda men came into Zinjibar and took over everything on Friday," said one resident.

Zinjibar is the capital of Abyan province in south central Yemen. The impoverished state has been wracked by violence amid protests to end President Ali Abdullah Saleh's near 33-year rule.

Washington considers the Yemen-based Al Qaeda branch the world's most active terror cell. The group has strongholds in remote mountain regions in the provinces of Shabwa, Abyan, Jouf and Marib. (Reporting by Mohamed Ghobari; Editing by Jon Hemming)


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#34 Post by Mary » Sun May 29, 2011 5:14 pm

Heavy Shelling To Restore City From Al Qaeda In South Yemen


Yemen Observer
Written By: Nasser Arrabyee
Article Date: May 29, 2011 - 8:19:11 PM
Article Source

The Yemeni troops are shelling the city of Zinjubar, capital of the southern province of Abyan, after about 200 Al Qaeda fighters occupied it, local resident said Sunday.

Masked gun men, believed be to Al Qaeda members, are seen everywhere in the streets of the city, after they plundered three banks and occupied all the government offices and security headquarters, the residents said.

The troops of the 125 Mica brigade shell the city randomly the city in a bid to force Al Qaeda fighters to surrender. Thousands of civilians are fleeing the bombardments to either to neighboring city of Aden or the close villages, and some of them hide in the mosques.

The local residents appealed to the right groups to help and pressure for stopping the random bombardments.

“Why all this bombardments on the houses and properties of the innocents, why there is no knight to knight battle, why the troops did not come and arrest these men who attacked the city,” said Nasser Al Fadhli, over phone from Zinjubar.

He said mortars are fired randomly causing a lot of damages and casualties.

“The shelling did not stop from early yesterday,” he added.

“We want this crazy bombardments to stop immediately,” Al Fadhli said “and if there is Al Qaeda people , they can be arrested easily”

Dead bodies of security soldiers are seen in the streets, according to eyewitnesses.

The opposition accused the government of colluding with the Al Qaeda to divert the attention from the anti- Saleh protests that sweep the country for four months now.

The former minister of interior, Hussein Arab, accused President Saleh of supporting the “alleged Al Qaeda” with the aim of making a chaos in the southern provinces.

“Those fighters who occupied Zinjubar city pretend they are Al Qaeda, actually they are not Al Qaeda, but they are armed groups working for Saleh,” said the former minister Hussein Arab, who is from the same province of Abyan, and who supports the ongoing anti-Saleh protests.

Earlier on Friday, Al Qaeda militants announced their control on the city of Zinjubar after they clashed and defeated the security, according to local residents.

Using loudspeakers, gunmen on board of a car were roaming in the city of Zinjubar late afternoon Friday saying “ We declare that Zinjubar fell in the hands of Mujahideen after it was liberated from the agents of the Americans.”

Five soldiers at least were killed when about 50 gunmen believed to be Al Qaeda members attacked the city of Zinjubar, the capital of the southern province of Abyan, local residents, and security sources said.

Eyewitnesses from local residents said that the militants were using five cars to move from place to place inside the city freely and without any fear.

The Al Qaeda militants plundered three local banks and occupied three security offices after they gave local residents three-hour ultimatum to leave their houses which were close to those offices.

Earlier in the year, Al Qaeda in the same province of Abyan, declared the town of Ja’ar as an Islamist State after they forced the government security forces to leave the town.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#35 Post by Mary » Sun May 29, 2011 5:45 pm

Yemen's Government Claims Al Qaeda Group Has Taken Major City

The political opposition blames President Ali Abdullah Saleh for losing control of Zinjibar; some even allege it's a set-up. But others fear Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has taken advantage of months of protests to gain ground.
Image
A girl sits next to women praying at a rally to demand the ouster of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
in Sana, the capital. (Ammar Awad / Reuters / May 29, 2011)


By Iona Craig
Los Angeles Times
Article Source
May 29, 2011, 1:48 p.m.

Reporting from Sana, Yemen—
Yemen's embattled government claimed Sunday that the capital of Abyan province in the south had been overrun by the country's Al Qaeda affiliate, while the political opposition and dissident generals blamed the president for losing control of the city.

The allegations about Zinjibar, Abyan's capital, raised fears that the radical group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was taking advantage of the four months of popular protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh to stealthily gain ground.

A spokesman for Saleh's ruling General People's Congress party said Al Qaeda gunmen had seized Zinjibar's government buildings Saturday after a shootout with Yemeni troops.

Yemen's opposition military council, which is made up of commanders who have broken with Saleh after the wave of demonstrations began in late January, blamed the president for "handing over certain governorates to rogue elements."

One Saleh critic, Gen. Abdullah Ali Elaiwah, a former defense minister, called for army units to join in the fight to bring down the president. "We call on you not to follow orders to confront other army units or the people," he said in a statement from the rebel generals.

Troops loyal to the president have withdrawn from swaths of the country in recent months to concentrate on holding Sana, the capital. Last week alone, the elite Republican Guard — headed by Saleh's son Ahmed — battled supporters of powerful tribal leaders in Sana and surrendered a base just outside of the city on Friday before airstrikes were called for.

A truce was brokered over the weekend that stopped the fighting in Sana.

It was impossible to know for sure if the group in Zinjibar was in Al Qaeda's grasp. Myriad separatist groups exist in the south, including rival jihadist militant organizations such as the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, as well as clans resentful of Sana. The country experienced a civil war between north and south in 1994.

Some opposition leaders even accused the president of deliberately sending out Islamist gunmen to Zinjibar as part of a ruse to help Saleh stay in power.

In the years following the Sept. 11 attacks, the Yemeni leader successfully played on Washington's fear that without him his country could fall into Islamic militants' hands. But as the current demonstrations against his rule gained momentum, the United States eventually threw its weight behind proposals for Saleh to step down.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#36 Post by Mary » Tue May 31, 2011 6:26 pm

Fighting Raises Yemen Civil War Fears


Truce collapses as forces loyal to the embattled president and opposition tribesmen clash in the capital, Sanaa.

31 May 2011 15:23
Article Source
Al Jazeera

A tenuous truce declared a few days ago to end street fighting in the Yemeni capital between tribal groups and forces loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the embattled president, has broken down, sending the country closer to the brink of civil war.

"The ceasefire agreement has ended," a government official said on Tuesday without giving further details.

The announcement came as overnight clashes in Sanaa killed many people and left dozens injured.

Sources told Al Jazeera that the heaviest shelling took place near the interior ministry building and the house of Sadiq al-Ahmar, a powerful tribal leader ranged against President Saleh.

They said forces loyal to Saleh, under pressure from protesters to quit and end his 33-year rule, fired tens of shells and missiles from a mountain near the house of al-Ahmar.

A journalist from Sanaa told Al Jazeera the fighting was the fiercest the capital had seen in a long time.

"People are leaving, several homes were burned and tribal forces took over some government buildings and police stations," the journalist said.

Protesters 'shot dead'

Separately, security forces reportedly shot dead at least two anti-government protesters in Yemen's second-largest city of Taiz on Tuesday, witnesses said.

They said that security forces were attempting to prevent anyone from gathering in the city, firing on those who tried to do so.

Medics confirmed that at least two people had been killed.
Image
Tuesday's deaths came after protesters said security forces smashed a four-month-long sit-in in Taiz on Monday, killing 21 protesters.

According to reports received by the UN, more than 50 protesters have been killed in Taiz since Sunday.

"The UN human rights office has received reports, which remain to be fully verified, that more than 50 people have been killed since Sunday in Taiz by Yemeni Army, Republican Guards and other government-affiliated elements," Navi Pillay, the UN human rights chief, said.

The latest violence follows the death of at least 30 people, reportedly killed by air strikes in the southern city of Zinjibar, which is said to be controlled by fighters linked to al-Qaeda.

The air attack on Monday appeared to be in response to Sunday's takeover of the city by 300 alleged al-Qaeda fighters and an overnight ambush that killed at least six Yemeni soldiers and injured dozens more who were travelling to the southern city.

"Civilians found a military car and an armoured vehicle. They were destroyed, and the bodies of six soldiers were found on the roadside," Ayman Mohamed Nasser, editor-in-chief of Attariq, Aden's main opposition paper, told the Reuters news agency by telephone.

Opposition leaders have accused Saleh of deliberately allowing Zinjibar, near a sea lane where about 3 million barrels of oil pass daily, to fall to al-Qaeda in a bid to show how chaotic Yemen would be without him.

Global powers have also been pressing Saleh to sign a deal brokered by Arab Gulf states under their umbrella organisation, the Gulf Co-operation Council, to hand over power.

Under the deal, Saleh was to hand over power in 30 days and be granted immunity from prosecution. The opposition signed the deal but Saleh refused to sign it.

Fears over al-Qaeda

The deal was aimed at stemming the growing chaos in Yemen, home to al-Qaeda fighters and neighbour to the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia.

The US and Saudi Arabia, both targets of attacks by Yemen-based al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, are worried that chaos is emboldening the group.

Saleh has been losing support as protests continued.

A breakaway military group called for other army units to join them in the fight to bring Saleh down.

Under Saleh, Yemen has moved to the brink of financial collapse, with about 40 per cent of the population living on less than $2 a day and a third facing chronic hunger.

At least 320 people have been killed in fighting in Yemen since protests calling for Saleh to end his rule started about four months ago, inspired by the popular uprisings that ended the reign of the long-standing rulers of Tunisia and Egypt.


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#37 Post by Mary » Sat Jun 04, 2011 9:09 pm

Official: Powers Transferred To VP After Attack On President Saleh


By the CNN Wire Staff
Article Source
June 4, 2011 -- Updated 2241 GMT (0641 HKT)

(CNN) -- Effective Saturday night, Yemeni Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi took over Ali Abdullah Saleh's responsibilities as president, Yemeni government spokesman Abdu Ganadi told CNN.

The power transfer comes as a source close to the Saudi government said that the long-time Yemeni ruler arrived in Riyadh around midnight Saturday, a day after being hurt in an attack on a mosque in his palace.

Some Yemeni officials continue to insist that Saleh, who for months has resisted calls to step down, is still in Yemen. Yaser Yamani, Sanaa's deputy mayor, told Yemeni state TV Saturday night that "Saleh is still being treated in the military hospital in Sanaa."

Yet the Saudi source said that Saleh was immediately taken to a nearby hospital after his plane landed in Saudi Arabia.

A senior Yemeni government official had told CNN that Saleh was fine after sustaining a slight head injury in Friday's attack, and he gave a nationally broadcast speech later that night. But Saleh's medical condition is worse than originally thought, according to the Saudi source.

In response to that attack, Yemeni security forces on Friday pounded the home of Sadeq al-Ahmar, the tribal leader whose supporters are suspected of being behind the presidential palace offensive. The flurry of shelling left 10 people dead and 35 others wounded, according to Fawzi Al-Jaradi, an official with Hamil al-Ahmar, a Hashed tribal confederation led by Sadeq al-Ahmar.

The Saudi government source said Saturday that the Riyadh government has helped to broker an open-ended cease-fire aimed at ending spiralling violence in Yemen. Demonstrators have demanded Saleh's ouster for months, and fighting between Yemeni government forces and Hashed tribesemen has spiked considerably in recent weeks.

Key members of all pertinent parties agreed to the deal, with the signatories including Brig. Gen. Ali Mohsen al Ahmar, who defected to the opposition; Sadeq al-Ahmar, the Hashed and Hamil al-Ahmar leader; and Saleh's sons, representing the government. The Saudi source said that King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud have been heavily involved in setting up the framework for the cease-fire.

This is not the first time that the opposition and Saleh, who has led Yemen for 33 years, have seemingly agreed to a peace deal. The Gulf Cooperation Council, which consists of representatives from six neighboring nations, helped broker a pact that involved Saleh stepping down from power -- but that agreement ended up breaking down weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the popular unrest in the impoverished Arab nation continued Saturday.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators congregated Saturday in Sanaa's Change Square.

Meanwhile, in the flashpoint town of Taiz, protesters retook an iconic square in the city's center Saturday after government forces cleared it out last week. Eyewitnesses said security forces tried to disperse crowds of anti-government demonstrators by shooting at them and that at least two were injured.

Yemen's tough crackdown against peaceful protesters in Taiz prompted a new denunciation by Human Rights Watch, an international organization that monitors human rights violations.

"First the security forces kill and wound protesters, then they keep medical workers from treating the wounded and raze the protesters' camps to wipe out all traces of them," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

"Foreign countries need to respond. They should freeze the assets of the president and other top officials until these horrendous abuses stop and those responsible are brought to account," said Stork, whose group also called for the export bans on arms and security equipment to Yemen.

Friday's presidential palace attack illustrates the escalating violence.

A Yemeni official who asked not to be named told CNN that Saleh was in the mosque when two "projectiles" were fired during Friday prayers. He confirmed the death of Sheikh Ali Mohsen al-Matari and four bodyguards. State-run news agency SABA, citing a source in Saleh's office, said three guards and the sheikh were killed.

Others taken to Saudi Arabia for treatment include Prime Minister Ali Mujawar; deputy prime ministers Rashad al-Alimi and Sadeq Amin Abu Rasand; Shura Council Chairman Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani; parliament speaker Yahya Al-Raee; and Shura Council Chairman Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghan.

In a televised speech Friday night, the president said the attack occurred as talks were taking place between himself and affiliates of Sadeq al-Ahmar, the Hashed tribal leader whose break with Saleh has been followed by spiraling violence.

Eyewitnesses, residents and government officials say Hashed tribesmen were responsible. But the spokesman for Sadeq al-Ahmar insisted this was not true.

"The Hashed tribesmen were not behind these attacks on the presidential palace and if they were, they would not deny it," Abdulqawi al-Qaisi said.

In his speech, the president said those behind Friday's attacks were not connected with the youth-led movement in Sanaa's Change Square. Rather, he said that "gangsters" perpetrated the strike as part of their bid to overthrow his government and destroy Yemen's economic achievements.

"I salute the armed forces everywhere and the courageous security forces who are keen on combating the attacks by a criminal gang that is acting outside of the law and is not affiliated with the youth's revolution present in Change Square," Saleh said.

Mohammed Qahtan, the spokesman for the Joint Meeting Parties, Yemen's largest opposition coalition, said "the attack on the palace was preplanned by President Saleh to make people forget about the attacks that he has committed over the last two weeks."

Qahtan said Saleh's forces have "bombarded most of the al-Ahmar family properties after the palace attack" and have killed hundreds over the past two weeks.

According to the independent International Crisis Group, tensions escalated May 23 when fighting erupted between military forces controlled by "Saleh's son and nephews and fighters loyal to the pre-eminent sheikh of the powerful Hashed confederation, Sadeq al-Ahmar."

While Saleh has been unpopular among many inside his country, he has been a longtime ally of the United States in the war against terror.

The United States has counted on his government to be a bulwark against militants, including al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but it believes he should transfer power in order to maintain stability in the country.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said on Friday that John Brennan, the president's homeland security adviser, traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for meetings with government officials to "discuss options to address the deteriorating situation" in Yemen.

Human Rights Watch has confirmed the deaths of 166 people in attacks by security forces and pro-government assailants on largely peaceful protesters since February. It said at least 130 people have died in heavy fighting since May 23, though it could not confirm how many of those were civilians.


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#38 Post by Mary » Sat Jun 04, 2011 9:15 pm

Yemeni president Arrives in Saudi Arabia


Ali Abdullah Saleh has arrived in Riyadh for medical treatment, a day after he was wounded in an attack on his compound.

Last Modified: 04 Jun 2011 23:18
Article Source
Aljazeera
Image
Protesters have been calling for the ouster of President Saleh since February [Reuters]


Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen's president, has arrived in Riyadh for medical treatment, a day after he was injured in an attack on his compound, the Saudi royal court said in a statement.

"The Yemeni president has arrived along with officials and citizens who had received different injuries for treatment in Saudi Arabia," the royal court said on Sunday.

Saleh will be treated for wounds received on Friday in a rocket attack on his presidential palace - an assault that marked a major escalation in a conflict building towards full civil war.

Al Jazeera has learned he had arrived at King Khalid Air Base in Riyadh and been transferred to a military hospital.

The embattled leader suffered "burns and scratches to the face and chest," an official said after the ruling General People's Congress said he was "lightly wounded in the back of the head."

Meanwhile, sources told Al Jazeera that Vice-President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has taken over as acting president and supreme commander of the armed forces.

The extent of Saleh's injuries has been a matter of intense speculation. When the rocket struck the mosque in his presidential compound and splintered the pulpit, he was surrounded by senior government officials and bodyguards.

Eleven guards died, and five officials standing nearby were seriously wounded and taken to Saudi Arabia.

The president delivered an audio address afterward, his voice labored, with only an old photo shown.

One-week truce

Earlier on Saturday, sources said a powerful Yemeni tribal federation battling Saleh's security forces and forces loyal to him agreed to abide to a Saudi-brokered one-week truce.

Mohammed al-Jendi, the Yemeni deputy minister of information, told Al Jazeera that Saleh had been injured but that "his health is fine and there is nothing to be concerned about".

In an audio address delivered on state television late on Friday night, Saleh said the attack was carried out by an "outlaw gang", referring to the Hashed tribal federation led by Sadiq al-Ahmar, a powerful dissident tribesman.

Al-Ahmar's fighters have been battling government forces in the capital since a truce crumbled on Tuesday.

Witnesses said sporadic shelling and rocketfire on Saturday rattled the al-Hasaba district of northern Sanaa where al-Ahmar has his base, forcing residents to flee. The area is suffering from water and electricity cuts.

Elsewhere in Yemen, officials said police and military units have withdrawn from the southern city of Taiz after a week of clashes with pro-reform demonstrators that left dozens dead.

"Looting and scenes of chaos are spreading after the withdrawal of security forces and the army from the city," the opposition leader, who asked not to be named, told Reuters news agency.

Tareq al-Shami, a ruling party official, confirmed the government's security forces had pulled back from the city which is about 200km south of the capital.

The UN human rights chief said her office was investigating reports that as many as 50 have been killed in Taiz since Sunday.

Al-Ahmar denial

Abdul Ghani al-Iryani, an independent political analyst in Sanaa, told Al Jazeera that it was "quite reasonable to assume" that al-Ahmar's fighters were behind the palace hit on Friday.

"[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," al-Iryani said.

But al-Ahmar's office denied responsibility and instead blamed Saleh for the attack, calling it part of his effort to help justify a government escalation of street fighting in the capital.

Ten people were killed and 35 others injured in southern Sanaa on Friday as Yemeni troops shelled the home of Hamid al-Ahmar, the brother of Sadiq al-Ahmar, Hamid's office said on Saturday.

Hamid, a prominent businessman, is a leader of Yemen's biggest opposition party, Al-Islah (reform).

The shelling in Hada neighbourhood also targeted the homes of Sadiq's two other brothers, Hemyar and Mizhij, and that of Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a dissident army general.

The US has condemned Friday's violence, including the attack on the Saleh's palace, and called for him to transfer power.

"We call on all sides to cease hostilities immediately and to pursue an orderly and peaceful process of transferring political power as called for in the GCC-brokered agreement," the White House said, referring to the Gulf Co-operation Council.

Yemen's parliamentary opposition on Saturday called for an "immediate" ceasefire.

The Common Forum alliance condemned what it said was the "the dangerous twist which the clashes have taken in targeting the homes of citizens, the presidential palace, and vital installations".

The alliance of parliamentary opposition groups urged "quick action" from the international community "to save Yemen and its people from falling into [civil] war", in the statement.

Meanwhile, Germany said it had ordered the immediate closure of its embassy in Yemen "because of current developments."

"The embassy team that is still on the ground will leave the country as soon as it is possible and safe," the foreign ministry said in a statement.


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#39 Post by Mary » Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:54 pm

Exit Of Wounded Yemeni Leader Sets Off Celebration

Image
By AHMED AL-HAJ
Article Source
Associated Press – 13 mins ago

SANAA, Yemen – The departure of Yemen's battle-wounded president for treatment in Saudi Arabia set off wild street celebrations Sunday in the capital, where crowds danced, sang and slaughtered cows in hopes that this spelled a victorious end to a more than three-month campaign to push their leader from power.

Behind the festive atmosphere, many feared Ali Abdullah Saleh, a masterful political survivor who has held power for nearly 33 years, will yet return — or leave the country in ruins if he can't. Hanging in the balance was a country that even before the latest tumult was beset by deep poverty, malnutrition, tribal conflict and violence by an active al-Qaida franchise with international reach.

Saleh, who was taken overnight to a military hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, underwent successful surgery on his chest to remove jagged pieces of wood that splintered from a mosque pulpit when his compound was hit by rockets on Friday, said medical officials and a Yemeni diplomat. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to release the information.

The stunning rocket attack, which the government first blamed on tribal fighters who in recent weeks turned against the president and later on al-Qaida, killed 11 bodyguards and seriously injured five senior officials worshipping just alongside Saleh.

While Saleh is away, Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is acting as temporary head of state, said the deputy information minister, Abdu al-Janadi. The minister said the president would return to assume his duties after his treatment, though experts on Yemeni affairs questioned whether a return is possible in the face of so much opposition.

"Saleh will come back. Saleh is in good health, and he may give up the authority one day but it has to be in a constitutional way," al-Janadi said. "Calm has returned. Coups have failed. ... We are not in Libya, and Saleh is not calling for civil war."

His sudden departure raised many questions, including whether his Saudi hosts want him to return. The Saudis have backed Saleh and cooperated in confronting al-Qaida and other threats, but they are now among those pressing him to give up power as part of a negotiated deal. Saudi Arabia has watched with concern the anti-government protests that have spread to other neighboring countries like Bahrain and is eager to contain the unrest on its doorstep.

An opposition party official said Sunday that international mediators, including the United States and Saudi Arabia, tried to get Saleh to sign a presidential decree passing power to his vice president before he left for Saudi Arabia — a strong indication that they are trying to push Saleh from power permanently.

Saleh refused to sign the declaration, offering only a verbal agreement, but the negotiations delayed his departure, the official said.

A foreign diplomat involved in Saleh's trip confirmed the story. Both spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss private talks.

The president's absence raised the specter of an even more violent power struggle between the armed tribesmen who have joined the opposition and loyalist military forces under the command of Saleh's son and other close relatives. Street battles between the sides have already pushed the political crisis to the brink of civil war.

In an attempt to cool the situation, the vice president offered through mediators to pull government forces back from the neighborhood of the capital where they've battled fighters loyal to Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar, who heads Yemen's most powerful tribal confederation, the Hashid.

Al-Ahmar said in a statement he agreed to the deal, which requires his forces to leave the streets and government ministries they seized starting Monday.
Image
An anti-government protestor, center, reacts as he and other protestors celebrate
President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure to Saudi Arabia, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, June 5, 2011.
Thousands of protesters are dancing and singing in the Yemeni capital Sanaa after the country's authoritarian leader flew to
Saudi Arabia to receive medical treatment for wounds he suffered in a rocket attack on his compound.


Late Sunday, opposition members and ruling party officials said negotiations have begun based on a U.S.-backed Gulf Arab plan to end the crisis with Saleh's resignation. Saleh rejected that plan three times after agreeing to sign it. His departure could allow Yemen's powerful Gulf neighbors to push it forward. Details of how this would proceed remained unclear.

The two sides said Saleh was expected to remain in Saudi Arabia for two weeks, one for treatment and another for meetings, but it remained unclear if he will return to Yemen,

All spoke on condition of anonymity because negotiations were ongoing.

In the streets of the capital, Sanaa, joyful crowds celebrated what they hoped would be Saleh's permanent exit.

Crowds danced, sang and slaughtered a few cows in what demonstrators have dubbed Change Square, the epicenter of the nationwide protest movement since mid-February calling for Saleh to step down immediately. Some uniformed soldiers joined those dancing and singing patriotic songs and were hoisted on the shoulders of the crowd. Many in the jubilant crowd waved Yemeni flags, joyfully whistling and flashing the "V" for victory signs.

"Who would have believed that this people could have removed the tyrant?" said 30-year-old teacher Moufid al-Mutairi.

Women in black veils joined demonstrators carrying banners that hailed Saleh's departure. One read: "The oppressor is gone, but the people stay."

But there were also fears that the president would attempt a comeback or try to transfer power to his son Ahmed, who heads the Republican Guard and remains in Yemen. Some worried Saleh and his allies could even try to leave the country in ruins if they feel there is no way to stay in power.

"Saleh is never true to his word," said al-Mutairi, the teacher. "If the medical reports are true that his wounds are light, then he will for sure return. Our challenge now is to remove the rest of the regime."

"If he returns, it will be a disaster."

The United States called for "a peaceful and orderly transition immediately, consistent with Yemen's constitutional processes," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

In a statement Sunday, the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain urged Yemenis "to find the way to reconciliation in a spirit of dialogue and national unity."

Yemen's unrest began as a peaceful protest movement that the government at times used brutal force to try to suppress, killing at least 166 people, according to Human Rights Watch. It transformed in the past two weeks into armed conflict after the president's forces attacked the home of a key tribal leader and one-time ally who threw his support behind the uprising. The fighting turned the streets of the capital into a war zone.

Other forces aligned against Saleh at the same time. There were high-level defections within his military, and Islamist fighters took over at least one town in the south in the past two weeks.

In Taiz, Yemen's second-largest city, dozens of gunmen attacked the presidential palace on Sunday, killing four soldiers in an attempt to storm the compound, according to military officials and witnesses. They said one of the attackers was also killed in the violence. The attackers belong to a group set up recently to avenge the killing of anti-regime protesters at the hands of Saleh's security forces.

Elsewhere in the south, gunman ambushed a military convoy, killing nine soldiers, officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Saleh has been under intense pressure to step down from his powerful Gulf neighbors, who control a large share of the world's oil resources, and from longtime ally Washington. They all fear Yemen could be headed toward a failed state that will become a fertile ground for al-Qaida's most active franchise to operate and launch attacks abroad.

In a display of the kind of political maneuvering that has helped keep Saleh in power through numerous perils, he agreed three times to a U.S.-backed Gulf Arab proposal for ending the crisis only to back out at the last minute.

Now, Saleh's injuries and his treatment abroad provide him with what could turn out to be a face-saving solution to exit power.

"This is exactly what needed to happen," said Christopher Boucek, a Yemen expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "He needed to leave in order to get past this political deadlock that has been cursing Yemen for the past few months."
Image
Yemeni army soldiers lifted by anti-government protestors, react as they celebrate
President Ali Abdullah Saleh's departure to Saudi Arabia, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, June 5, 2011. Thousands of protesters
are dancing and singing in the Yemeni capital Sanaa after the country's authoritarian leader flew to Saudi Arabia to receive
medical treatment for wounds he suffered in a rocket attack on his compound.
Rick Nelson, a counterterrorism expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said there is no chance of Saleh returning to Yemen and it's unlikely anyone linked to him can maintain power and control.

"I can't see any remnant of the Saleh government staying in place after this," Nelson said.

The fact that powerful members of Saleh's family have remained behind in Sanaa suggests vigorous attempts to hold power will be made.

Significantly, military officials said Hadi, the vice president, met late Saturday night in Sanaa with several members of Saleh's family, including his son and one-time heir apparent Ahmed, who commands the powerful Republican Guard. Others who attended the meeting included two of the president's nephews and two half brothers. All four head well-equipped and highly trained units that constitute the president's main power base in the military.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#40 Post by Mary » Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:10 pm

Crack In Syria Regime? Mutiny Reported In North


CBS News
Article Source
June 7, 2011 11:41 AM
Image
In this photo released by the Syrian official news
agency SANA and according to them, Syrian
policemen carry the coffins of their comrades
who were killed in recent violence in the country,
during their funeral procession at the Police Hospital
in Damascus, Syria on Tuesday, June 7, 2011.
(AP Photo/SANA)

(AP) BEIRUT - Mutinous Syrian soldiers joined forces with protesters after days of crackdowns in a tense northern region, apparently killing dozens of officers and security guards, residents and activists said Tuesday.

The details of what happened in Jisr al-Shughour remain murky, but if confirmed the mutiny would be an extraordinary crack in the regime, which sees its 40-year grip on the country eroded weekly by thousands of protesters calling for the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

The government said 120 security forces died after "armed groups" attacked in Jisr al-Shughour, but has not explained how the heavily armed military could suffer such an enormous loss of life. Communications to the area are spotty, foreign journalists have been expelled, and many people reached by phone are too afraid to talk.

resident said tensions began last week with snipers and security forces firing repeatedly on peaceful protests and then funerals, killing around 30 people.

The resident said a number of soldiers ultimately defected, angered by the thuggish behavior of pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha," a fearsome name that some believe has roots in the Arabic word for "ghost."

The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals, said the gunmen were terrorizing residents and trying to stir up sectarian tensions.

Jisr al-Shughour is predominantly Sunni but there are Alawite and Christian villages in the area.

"There was heavy gunfire and very loud explosions from across the river on Saturday and Sunday," he said, adding he could not see what was happening from where he lives.

"We heard there were massacres, bodies thrown in the river."

An alleged army deserter, a man who identified himself as Lt. Abdul-Razzaq Tlass, appeared on the Al-Jazeera television network Tuesday and called on other officers to protect protesters against the regime.

"Remember your duties," added Tlass, who shares a last name with a former defense minister and said he was from the town of Rastan. The name Tlass is common among Syrian officers; Rastan — which has also come under deadly government bombardment in recent days — is their hometown.

France said the latest events in Syria showed Assad has lost legitimacy to rule, and Britain said the president must "reform or step aside"

The Jisr al-Shughour resident said people were fleeing the area for the Turkish border about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away, fearing retaliation from a regime known for ruthlessly crushing dissent. The government vowed Monday to respond "decisively" to the violence there.

"People were struck by fear and panic after the government statements last night, it's clear they are preparing for a major massacre," he said.

In many ways, Syrians say, the shabiha are more terrifying than the army and security forces, whose tactics include firing on protesters. The swaggering gunmen, they say, are deployed specifically to brutalize and intimidate Assad's opponents.

Most shabiha fighters belong to the minority Alawite sect, as do the Assad family and the ruling elite. This ensures the gunmen's loyalty to the regime, built on fears they will be persecuted if the Sunni majority gains the upper hand.

An offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Alawite sect represents about 11 percent of the population in Syria. The sect's longtime dominance has bred seething resentments, which Assad has worked to tamp down by pushing a strictly secular identity in Syria.

Jisr al-Shughour was a stronghold of the country's banned Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s. Human rights groups said at least 42 civilians have been killed there since Saturday.

Some activists also told of a mutiny, with a few soldiers switching sides and defending themselves against attacking security forces. Other reports said many Syrians also took up arms to defend themselves.

A resident of Jisr al-Shughour who spoke from a nearby village where he fled days ago scoffed at reports of armed resistance.

"Since the 80s, residents of Jisr al-Shughour are banned from possessing any kind of weapons, even a hunting rifle," he said. "So how can there be armed resistance?"

A prominent activist outside Syria with connections to the area said many Syrians had taken to carrying weapons in response to the killings of protesters. But he said clashes over the past few days were mainly between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and Syrian security forces.

He said the weapons were smuggled from Turkey.

"The area is effectively outside the control of Syrian security forces now," he said.

Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, said it was unclear how such a large number of officers were killed.

He said the likely cause was army infighting but added there may be cases of individual residents rising up against troops to defend themselves.

He blamed the government for not explaining: "The statements by officials are full of threats, rather than explanations."

Turkish authorities 35 Syrians wounded in the clashes were being treated Tuesday at Turkish hospitals after crossing the border from Jisr al-Shughour.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said 224 Syrians were sheltering at a camp near the border and authorities were taking measures in case of an influx of refugees.

Syria's government has a history of violent retaliation against dissent, including a three-week bombing campaign against the city of Hama that crushed an uprising there in 1982. Jisr al-Shughour itself came under government shelling in 1980, with a reported 70 people killed.

The town drew the most recent assault by Syria's military, whose nationwide crackdown on the revolt against Assad has left more than 1,300 Syrians dead, activists say. A

resident said tensions began last week with snipers and security forces firing repeatedly on peaceful protests and then funerals, killing around 30 people.

The resident said a number of soldiers ultimately defected, angered by the thuggish behavior of pro-government gunmen known as "shabiha," a fearsome name that some believe has roots in the Arabic word for "ghost."

The resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals, said the gunmen were terrorizing residents and trying to stir up sectarian tensions.

Jisr al-Shughour is predominantly Sunni but there are Alawite and Christian villages in the area.

"There was heavy gunfire and very loud explosions from across the river on Saturday and Sunday," he said, adding he could not see what was happening from where he lives.

"We heard there were massacres, bodies thrown in the river."

An alleged army deserter, a man who identified himself as Lt. Abdul-Razzaq Tlass, appeared on the Al-Jazeera television network Tuesday and called on other officers to protect protesters against the regime.

"Remember your duties," added Tlass, who shares a last name with a former defense minister and said he was from the town of Rastan. The name Tlass is common among Syrian officers; Rastan — which has also come under deadly government bombardment in recent days — is their hometown.

France said the latest events in Syria showed Assad has lost legitimacy to rule, and Britain said the president must "reform or step aside"

The Jisr al-Shughour resident said people were fleeing the area for the Turkish border about 12 miles (20 kilometers) away, fearing retaliation from a regime known for ruthlessly crushing dissent. The government vowed Monday to respond "decisively" to the violence there.

"People were struck by fear and panic after the government statements last night, it's clear they are preparing for a major massacre," he said.

In many ways, Syrians say, the shabiha are more terrifying than the army and security forces, whose tactics include firing on protesters. The swaggering gunmen, they say, are deployed specifically to brutalize and intimidate Assad's opponents.

Most shabiha fighters belong to the minority Alawite sect, as do the Assad family and the ruling elite. This ensures the gunmen's loyalty to the regime, built on fears they will be persecuted if the Sunni majority gains the upper hand.

An offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Alawite sect represents about 11 percent of the population in Syria. The sect's longtime dominance has bred seething resentments, which Assad has worked to tamp down by pushing a strictly secular identity in Syria.

Jisr al-Shughour was a stronghold of the country's banned Muslim Brotherhood in the 1980s. Human rights groups said at least 42 civilians have been killed there since Saturday.

Some activists also told of a mutiny, with a few soldiers switching sides and defending themselves against attacking security forces. Other reports said many Syrians also took up arms to defend themselves.

A resident of Jisr al-Shughour who spoke from a nearby village where he fled days ago scoffed at reports of armed resistance.

"Since the 80s, residents of Jisr al-Shughour are banned from possessing any kind of weapons, even a hunting rifle," he said. "So how can there be armed resistance?"

A prominent activist outside Syria with connections to the area said many Syrians had taken to carrying weapons in response to the killings of protesters. But he said clashes over the past few days were mainly between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and Syrian security forces.

He said the weapons were smuggled from Turkey.

"The area is effectively outside the control of Syrian security forces now," he said.

Ammar Qurabi, head of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria, said it was unclear how such a large number of officers were killed.

He said the likely cause was army infighting but added there may be cases of individual residents rising up against troops to defend themselves.

He blamed the government for not explaining: "The statements by officials are full of threats, rather than explanations."

Turkish authorities 35 Syrians wounded in the clashes were being treated Tuesday at Turkish hospitals after crossing the border from Jisr al-Shughour.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said 224 Syrians were sheltering at a camp near the border and authorities were taking measures in case of an influx of refugees.

Syria's government has a history of violent retaliation against dissent, including a three-week bombing campaign against the city of Hama that crushed an uprising there in 1982. Jisr al-Shughour itself came under government shelling in 1980, with a reported 70 people killed.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#41 Post by Mary » Sat Jun 18, 2011 3:15 pm

In Unending Turmoil, Syria's Assad Turns To Family

Image
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
FILE - In this picture taken on June 13, 2000, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,
right, his brother Maher, centre, and brother-in-law Major General Assef Shawkat,
left, stand during the funeral of late president Hafez al-Assad in Damascus, Syria.
Syria's President Bashar Assad, beset by a popular upheaval that won't die,
appears to be turning more and more to a tiny coterie of relatives, the backbone
of a family dynasty that has kept Syria's 22 million people living in fear for decades.
(AP Photo, File)


By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY
Article Source
Associated Press
Thu Jun 16, 3:01 pm ET

BEIRUT – Syria's President Bashar Assad, beset by a popular upheaval that won't die, appears to be turning more and more to a tiny coterie of relatives, the backbone of a family dynasty that has kept Syria's 22 million people living in fear for decades.

Younger brother Maher is key, believed in command of much of the current bloody crackdown. Chief of Syria's elite forces, a man reputed to have once shot a brother-in-law in the stomach in a family feud, Maher's recent tactics have been denounced as inhumane by no less than the prime minister of neighboring Turkey.

A sister, an uncle and assorted cousins round out the family portrait, a picture of an entrenched power structure that relies on a vast, pervasive security apparatus and whose influence eclipses the role of Syria's formal government.

It all dates back to 1970 and a coup led by Bashar's father, the late President Hafez Assad, a member of the Alawites, a poor minority Muslim sect whose ambitious young men rose to power through the military. The brotherly right hand also dates back to those days, when Hafez Assad relied on sibling Rifaat as his enforcer.

As the anti-government uprising wears on, President Assad, a seemingly mild-mannered ophthalmologist, may find family lieutenants convenient foils, as well, for deflecting popular outrage away from himself. He has already jettisoned one cousin, focusing blame on him for 2011's first attacks on protesters.

Syrian pro-democracy activists and others see relatives' hands in the move to crack down harshly.

As protests spread in April, U.S. congressional researchers cited reports that the family fears that "easing up on protesters could embolden them, bringing much larger crowds into the streets."

Maher Assad, 42, is commander of the army's 4th Division, regarded as Syria's best-equipped and most highly trained forces, and of the six brigades of the Republican Guard, responsible for protecting the capital, Damascus.

Since the uprising began in mid-March, activists say, Maher's troops have played a role in anti-dissident operations in the southern city of Daraa, the coastal city of Banias, the central province of Homs and the northern province of Idlib, where thousands of terrified residents have fled into nearby Turkey. The activists report some 1,400 people killed and 10,000 detained in the crackdown.

On Thursday in Idlib, security forces pressed their operation, arresting hundreds of young men, activists said.

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, clearly credits the reports about Maher Assad, saying earlier this month his actions approach "savagery."

Bassam Jaara, a Syrian journalist and opposition figure living in London, said the president's brother is highly influential. "Maher Assad is the commander of the two most powerful units in the military," he said. "It is natural that he has the final word."

Another dissident figure in exile, Muhieddine Lathkani, said Maher "is known to be moody and ruthless."

Unverified reports say the younger brother shot brother-in-law Assef Shawkat in the stomach in 1999 after an argument. "There are so many stories about Maher, such as killing this person, torturing another, slapping a senior official in the face," Lathkani said.

In 2005, an inadvertently released passage of a U.N. investigative report cited a witness saying Maher Assad and that same brother-in-law, Shawkat, head of military intelligence at the time, were among those behind the assassination of then-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon.

A draft sealed indictment is pending in the Hariri case, but no suspects' names are confirmed. This spring the U.S. and the European Union imposed financial sanctions against top Syrian officials, including Maher Assad.

Besides his brother, President Assad, 45, who took power in 2000 after his father's death, relies on brother-in-law Shawkat, now a major general and deputy army chief of staff; his cousin Rami Makhlouf, Syria's most influential businessman; Makhlouf's brother, Hafez, a senior intelligence officer; and cousin Zou al-Hima Shawish, in charge of presidential security.

The president's elder sister, Bushra, Shawkat's wife, is "rumored to be a key decision-maker," congressional researchers reported in April.

Most influential of all, some say, is Assad's maternal uncle, Mohammed Makhlouf, father of the Makhlouf cousins and a man highly respected by his sister Anisa, the president's widowed mother, and her children.

The Syrian leader has shown, however, that politics — and regime survival — can be more important than blood.

Days after the protests exploded in the southern town of Daraa, and were brutally suppressed, President Assad removed cousin Atef Najib from his post as security chief there. He had been accused by local people of driving protesters into the streets with his harsh treatment of some teenage pro-democracy graffiti writers.

Najib and the local governor were then referred to a court for investigation and were banned from leaving the country.

Bashar Assad, who has made only two public speeches since the uprising began, was apparently trying to distance his presidency from the bloody repression, seeking to preserve support for a post-uprising period.

In apparently the same vein, cousin Rami Makhlouf, reviled by many Syrians for alleged corruption, told reporters in Damascus on Thursday he would in the future devote profits from his 40-percent share in the SyriaTel mobile phone network to charity, and take other steps to help "as many Syrians as possible."

Whether such tactics score political points or not, analysts say, the family must stand together or fall together.

"It is a network of personal interests and family links setting up a protection network around the Assad family," said Syrian scholar Radwan Ziadeh, of Washington's George Washington University. "If the Assad family collapses, all this network will collapse."


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#42 Post by Abaddon (Ex. 23:21) » Thu Jun 30, 2011 3:11 pm

Al Qaeda gains in Yemen a nightmare come true for US

By NATHANIEL SHEPPARD JR.
Al Arabiya
Source of Article

Yemen is becoming a nightmare come true for the US as Al Qaeda jihadists and Islamist militants take advantage of the country’s continuing power struggle and seize control of strategic cities.

So far, militants have captured Aden, a port city of 800,000 near the eastern approach to the Red Sea and a choke point for international oil shipments. They also are said to have taken two other southern towns, looted military depots and flung open the doors of prisons in the towns and pressured youths to join them. Police, local officials and members of the military fled for their lives.

Meanwhile, the country continues to slide closer to collapse as President Ali Abdullah Saleh enters his fourth week in Saudi Arabia, where he is recovering from an assassination attempt. Thousands of Yemenis continue protest nationwide demanding that Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi take control and form a transitional council to remove remaining members of the Saleh regime from power.

A nationwide fuel shortage continues, forcing rationing of electric, water and other services while runaway prices deprive some residents of food and basic necessities. Yemen is highly dependent on declining oil resources for revenue. Petroleum accounts for roughly 25 percent of GDP and 70 percent of government revenue. It also is faced with declining water resources and a high population growth rate. Yemen already was the poorest country in the Arab world.

Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups in the area have formed an alliance of convenience and have been trying for months to restock weapons and seize control of areas. Three months ago, authorities in Dubai thwarted a plot to smuggle 16,000 handguns from Turkey to rebels in the northern part of the country.

They have tried to win hearts and minds in some cities, ordering merchants to roll back prices and offering residents protection from government crackdowns on protesters, but have imposed strict Islamic rules on other captured areas, such as placing restrictions on the movement of women.

Saleh al-Zawari, the governor of neighboring Abyan Province, fled the area about three weeks ago, warning that the area could become “another Taliban state like Afghanistan.”

Why Saleh deputies in charge have made little effort to stop the insurgents is unclear. There is an American-trained counterterrorism unit in Yemen but it has not been deployed. Yemen security agents have long been suspected of being in cahoots with Al Qaeda, further raising questions whether Mr. Saleh knowingly is allowing Al Qaeda to gain ground.

This may all be in retaliation for the US and other countries in the region calling for Mr. Saleh to step down, something he agreed to do several times, only to back down at the last minute.

Even before these developments, the US was concerned with the safety of Bab el Mandab, a narrow strait that passes between Yemen and Djibouti at the mouth of the Gulf of Aden that is considered one of seven strategic world oil shipping chokepoints.

About 11 percent of the world’s seaborne petroleum passes through the Gulf of Aden en route to the Suez Canal, SUMED Pipeline and regional refineries, not as much as the 40 percent that passes through the narrow Gulf of Hormuz to the north between Oman and Iran, but potentially more vulnerable.

The US moved military assets including drone unmanned attack aircraft and fighter jets into the area in May, saying Al Qaeda was exploiting the country’s political chaos. The operations are led by the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command in cooperation with the Central Intelligence Agency.

How Al Qaeda has been able to capture Aden with those assets in the area remains a mystery. One problem may be difficulty in telling who is who among militants now that Al Qaeda, other insurgents and some anti government elements have merged. Any but the most surgical attack against rebel forces backed by solid intelligence could lead to accusations that the US was actively siding with those trying to overthrow Mr. Saleh.

Nonetheless, the US must do something. In 2010, a year before its current upheaval began, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of the United States described Yemen as “an urgent national security priority.” Since 2009, Al Qaeda in the Persian Gulf, a motivated, freewheeling cell, has launched several unsuccessful attacks on the US.

In one attack, in October 2010, authorities intercepted two US-bound packages laden with what US President Obama told the nation “apparently contain explosive material.” He vowed that those behind the attack “will be held to account.” In another attack, a man tried to detonate explosives in his underwear while aboard a Detroit-bound aircraft on Christmas Day 2009. The 23-year-old man told authorities he had been trained in Yemen.

Also in 2010, three Americans were arrested in Yemen on terrorist charges and a Texas man was indicted for allegedly trying to board a ship for the Middle East carrying money, pre-paid telephone calling cards, mobile telephone SIM cards, global positioning system receivers and a military-issue compass he planned to deliver to Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen.

With little stability and growing desperation by residents, parts of Yemen are ripe for picking by insurgents promising relief.

(Nathaniel Sheppard Jr. is a veteran national and foreign correspondent who has worked for The Chicago Tribune and The New York Times. He can be reached at: natsheppard@gmail.com)
"He that is from God listens to the sayings of God..." -- John 8:47

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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#43 Post by Abaddon (Ex. 23:21) » Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:44 pm

Six Syrians killed as 500,000 protest against Assad

By - | AFP – Fri, Jul 1, 2011

Source of Article

Syrian security forces killed at least six demonstrators as more than half a million people took to the streets across the country on Friday to demand the departure of Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

The protests came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said time was running out for the Syrian president, as he pursues a violent crackdown on pro-democracy activists that has killed more than 1,300 people since mid-March.

At least three people died in the central city of Homs when security forces opened fire, two were killed in Damascus and one in Daraya, near the capital, activist Ammar Qorabi told AFP in Nicosia.

Qorabi, who runs the National Organisation of Human Rights and is based in Egypt, said by telephone that a seventh person was killed on Friday in an unrelated drive-by grenade attack.

State television gave a conflicting toll, saying gunmen killed one demonstrator in Damascus and two people in Homs, one a policeman.

Waves of protesters flooded the streets nationwide to demand the fall of the regime, with varying reports putting the turnout in the central city of Hama alone at more than half a million.

The head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdel Rahman, spoke of 500,000 protesters and said this was "the biggest demonstration since the Syrian Revolution broke out" on March 15.

Another activist said that "more than 400,000 marched," adding that "they came from all over, from mosques and nearby towns."

A third said more than 200,000 had gathered in the city's Assi Square, stretching for more than one kilometre, and that there was no sign of security forces.

Hama has a bloody past. In 1982, an estimated 20,000 people were killed when the army put down an Islamist revolt.

Demonstrations also gripped the protest hub of Homs where one activist said "more than 100,000 people" protested in several districts as tanks were deployed.

Abdel Karim Rihawi, president of the Syrian League for Human Rights, said "tens of thousands of protesters headed towards Deir Ezzor's Freedom Square upon leaving the mosques" after the weekly prayers in the eastern oil hub on the Euphrates River.

In Jabal al-Zawiyah, which has been the theatre of army operations since Tuesday, "tens of thousands of people started to march from the village towards Maaret al-Numan," he told AFP.

State television reported pro-regime demonstrations in the northern commercial hub of Aleppo and in Suweida, in the south, with people chanting "God, Syria, Bashar and that's it."

Overnight, Abdel Rahman said security forces killed three civilians in Jabal al-Zawiyah, and explosions were heard in the coastal city of Latakia.

Meanwhile Clinton criticised the Assad regime's incoherence in authorising an opposition meeting while stifling dissent.

"Allowing one meeting of the opposition in Damascus is not sufficient," she told reporters on a visit to Lithuania.

"I'm just hurt by recent reports of continuing violence on the border and in Aleppo, where demonstrators have been beaten, attacked with knives by government-organised groups and security forces," Clinton said.

"It is absolutely clear that the Syrian government is running out of time. There isn't any question about that."

Friday's protests followed a call from the Facebook group, The Syrian Revolution 2011 group, which called on people to rally, branding July 1 "the Friday of departure" and saying in a message to Assad: "We don't love you... Go away, you and your party."

Hundreds of protesters in Aleppo, Syria's commercial hub, were beaten back on Thursday by baton-wielding security forces, activists said.

On Thursday, the opposition announced the creation of a "national coordination committee" of exiled dissidents and opponents at home to push for democratic reforms.

The announcement came after about 160 dissidents, several of whom have spent years in jail, gathered Monday in Damascus, vowing to press ahead with a "peaceful uprising for freedom and democracy and pluralism to establish a democratic state through peaceful means."

The dissidents demanded the right to demonstrate peacefully, the release of political prisoners, freedom of the press, the safe return of refugees and moves to prevent foreign intervention.

The Observatory says 1,360 civilians have been killed since mid-March and that 343 security force personnel have also died. Thousands have been arrested.
"He that is from God listens to the sayings of God..." -- John 8:47

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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#44 Post by Abaddon (Ex. 23:21) » Sat Jul 02, 2011 8:52 pm

Syria Sees Huge Protests; 14 Reportedly Slain
By Anthony Shadid
Article Source
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: 9:03 p.m. Friday, July 1, 2011
Image
Protesters hold up banners criticizing the Syrian regime Friday in Kfar Nebel, a village in northwestern Syria.


Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Hama, a city abandoned by security forces, on Friday in Syria's biggest demonstration in nearly four months of unrest staking a festive claim to a region that bore the brunt of a ferocious government crackdown a generation ago.

The scenes of residents rallying in a central square in Hama, captured by activists on video and posted on the Internet, seemed to signal a new stage in an uprising that has so far only aspired to match the mass protests in Egypt and Tunisia, where leaders were eventually forced to step down.

Syrian protesters exploited at least a temporary vacuum in the official security presence in Hama to stage a panorama of dissent as celebratory as it was angry.

"Leave! Leave!" protesters chanted to a hip-hop beat.

The military and security forces withdrew last month from Hama for reasons that remain unclear. But the move seemed to reflect a compelling, if ambiguous, turn in an uprising that until recently was marked by repeated clashes between protesters and armed troops.

After weeks of stalemate, a new dynamic has emerged recently in Syria. The opposition gathered Monday in a rare meeting in Damascus, government officials are promising reform in coming weeks, and protesters have shown a resilience that seems more and more difficult for the government to suppress.

Demonstrations in other Syrian cities Friday did have violence. Activists said at least 11 people were killed by security forces around the country, including five in the central city of Homs and two in Damascus.

In separate clashes, three people were killed during a military operation seeking to halt the flow of refugees crossing the border to Turkey, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.


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Re: The "Small Horn" Of Bible Prophecy Emerges!!!

#45 Post by Abaddon (Ex. 23:21) » Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:07 pm

Afghan President's Half Brother Killed in South


By MIRWAIS KHAN
Article Source
Associated Press
AP – 6 hrs ago
Image
Still image from video of Ahmad Wali Karzai speaking at a news conference in Quetta.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — President Hamid Karzai's half brother, the most powerful man in southern Afghanistan and a lightning rod for criticism of corruption in the government, was assassinated Tuesday by a close associate. His death leaves a dangerous power vacuum in the south just as the government has begun peace talks with insurgents ahead of a U.S. withdrawal.

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the head of the Kandahar provincial council, was shot to death while receiving guests at his home in Kandahar, the capital of the province that was the birthplace of the Taliban movement and was the site of a recent U.S.-led offensive.

Tooryalai Wesa, the provincial governor of Kandahar, identified the assassin as Sardar Mohammad and said he was a close, "trustworthy" person who had gone to Wali Karzai's house to get him to sign some papers.

As Wali Karzai was signing the papers, the assassin "took out a pistol and shot him with two bullets — one in the forehead and one in the chest," Wesa said. "Another patriot to the Afghan nation was martyred by the enemies of Afghanistan."

The killing coincided with a visit to the capital, Kabul, by French President Nicolas Sarzoky.

"This morning my younger brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was murdered in his home," the Afghan president said during a joint news conference with Sarkozy. "Such is the life of Afghanistan's people. In the houses of the people of Afghanistan, each of us is suffering and our hope is, God willing, to remove this suffering from the people of Afghanistan and implement peace and stability."

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assassination at the heavily guarded house, hidden behind 8-foot (2.5 meter) blast walls. The Interior Ministry said an investigation was under way, and Kandahar Police Chief Gen. Abdul Raziq said police have detained several men who were guarding Mohammad's home for questioning about his recent activities.

President Karzai arrived in Kandahar on Tuesday evening by helicopter to attend the funeral scheduled for Wednesday morning, according to Raziq.

Wali Karzai, who was in his 50s and had survived several previous assassination attempts, was seen by many as a political liability for the Karzai government after a series of allegations, including that he was on the CIA payroll and involved in drug trafficking. He denied the charges. The president repeatedly challenged his accusers to show him evidence of his sibling's wrongdoing, but said nobody ever could.

Wali Karzai remained a key power broker in the south, helping shore up his family's interests in the Taliban's southern heartland, which has been the site of numerous offensives by U.S., coalition and Afghan troops to root out insurgents. Militants have retaliated by intimidating and killing local government officials or others against the Taliban.

The United Nations said in a quarterly report issued June 23 that more than half of all assassinations across Afghanistan since March had been in Kandahar. In April, the Kandahar police chief Khan Mohammad Mujahid was killed by a suicide bomber wearing a police uniform who blew himself up beside the official's car.

According to a government official with knowledge of the investigation, Wali Karzai was holding a meeting in his home with five provincial council members and a number of local village elders, including the assassin. The official said Mohammad was a close friend and had represented Wali Karzai many times in their shared home village of Karz, the president's hometown. Mohammad was the village elder of Karz and was his emissary and travel companion throughout Kandahar, the official said.

At about 11:30 a.m. Mohammad asked Wali Karzai to speak with him privately and to sign some papers in an adjoining room, the official said. Three shots rang out, according to the official. Wali Karzai's bodyguards ran into the room and found him on the floor with bullet wounds to his head, hand and leg. The bodyguards shot and killed the assassin.

The government official said that it remains unclear whether the killing was the result of an internal feud or a Taliban plot.

Although tribal rivalries are common in Kandahar, bloodletting within tribes is fairly uncommon, he said.

Agha Lalai, deputy of the provincial council, said he was one of the first to respond to the sounds of shots.

Lalai said that he and several other men picked up Wali Karzai and attempted to carry him out of the house, but he died before they left the grounds.

In Kabul, the political elite reacted to the killing with shock and concern about the future of the country's southern region and beyond. Though Wali Karzai held an elected office in the provincial council, people who knew him said he seemed to float above the various political and tribal spheres dominating the south. Throngs of people came to Karzai's house on a daily basis seeking remedies for everything from family disputes, to tribal battles, to political intrigues.

Members of the international community had urged the president to remove his brother from his powerful provincial position, saying that it was essential if he was to prove to the Afghan people that he was committed to good governance. But despite his alleged forays into narco-trafficking, smuggling, and land theft, many Western officials also relied on him because of his unparalleled reach and understanding of the various players in the area.

Noorolhaq Olomi, a former parliament member from Kandahar, said Wali Karzai was the most powerful man in southern Afghanistan — "more of a governor than the governor" and "everybody's leader in the south, not just Kandahar."

"I cannot say whether this was political or personal or some other matter," Olomi said. "But whoever did it, it shows the weakness of this government. The president needs to change things. He needs to change himself and build a government that is real. Right now, there is no government. It's all a fraud."

Condolences flooded into the president palace throughout the day.

Gen. David Petraeus, the outgoing commander of NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan, condemned the murder and said the coalition would support efforts to prosecute anyone who played a role in the killing. "President Karzai is working to create a stronger, more secure Afghanistan, and for such a tragic event to happen to someone within his own family is unfathomable," Petraeus said in a statement.

Both Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called the president to express their sadness at his brother's death.

Abdullah Abdullah, the top opposition leader in Afghanistan who ran against Karzai in the latest presidential election, called it "an act against national personality and the ones who are at the service of the Afghan people."

Mohammad Yusuf Pashtun, a senior adviser to the president for construction, water, energy and mines, said the death will have a big impact on security in southern Afghanistan.

"My first impression is that in spite of all the negative propaganda against him he managed to be a source of stability in that area," he said. "When it comes to bringing people together in the south, this creates a vacuum. I don't know what will happen now, but something must be done by the local leadership."

Rangina Hamidi, a resident of Kandahar and daughter of the city's mayor, said Wali Karzai is survived by five children — two sons and three daughters. She says his youngest son was born about a month ago.

Wali Karzai has been the reported target of multiple assassination attempts.

In May 2009, a bodyguard was killed when his motorcade was ambushed by insurgents but Wali Karzai was not harmed.

That attack came less than two months after four Taliban suicide bombers stormed Kandahar's provincial council office, killing 13 people in an assault that Wali Karzai said was aimed at him, although he had left the building a few minutes beforehand.

Wali Karzai also survived a November 2008 suicide attack on the provincial council offices that killed six other people.

___

Associated Press writers Amir Shah, Rahim Faiez, Solomon Moore, Heidi Vogt and Deb Riechmann in Kabul and Kathy Gannon in Islamabad contributed to this report.


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"He that is from God listens to the sayings of God..." -- John 8:47

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