Yemeni Leader Saleh Said Returning July 17
The Yemeni president’s return from a Saudi Arabian hospital after being attacked last month would occur on the 33rd anniversary of his taking office. The official told Al Arabiya that Saleh chose that date to send a message that he’s still the legitimate president of Yemen until September 2013.
Saleh said last week that he had eight operations and all were successful. He left his deputy, Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi, in charge. State media has said the president sends messages to heads of state and has discussed a plan for the transition of power proposed by the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
As word of Saleh’s possible return was reported, Yemeni forces shelled Al-Rawdha district north of Taiz, where two people were killed and two wounded, Al Arabiya reported.
In Syria, seven mourners were shot to death at a funeral yesterday in Damascus’ Al-Damir suburb, Al Arabiya said, citing witnesses.
Meanwhile, the president of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria declined to attend a Damascus meeting with the Syrian regime, according to a statement on the group’s website.
“If the regime ordered not to shoot at protesters as it claimed, these orders haven’t been translated on the ground, so what is the point to talk with a regime that can’t control things?”Ammar Qurabi said. “If the regime ordered to kill and torture protesters, there will be no dialogue with murderers.”
Ordered to Shoot
Syria’s security forces have been ordered to shoot at protesters, Human Rights Watch said, citing interviews with eight soldiers and four members of security agencies who defected after anti-government protests began in March.
The New York-based organization said yesterday that those interviewed participated in and witnessed the shooting of protesters in several cities, including Damascus. The shootings were ordered by their superiors, Human Rights Watch said, citing the defectors.
“The testimony of these defectors provides further evidence that the killing of protesters was no accident but a result of a deliberate policy by senior figures in Syria to use deadly force to disperse protesters,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for Human Rights Watch, in a statement.
Ambassador’s Visit
On July 7, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, met with residents in Hama, a center of anti-regime activity, in a gesture of support for the 500,000 people rallying for the end of rule of President Bashar al-Assad under threat from government forces. Hundreds of protesters gathered yesterday in front of the U.S. embassy in Damascus to demonstrate against Ford’s visit, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
In Egypt, the trial of suspects accused of killing protesters and those involved in corruption will be expedited, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
The statement came the day after Egyptian demonstrators to demand the justice system hold trials more quickly of those former officials and policemen accused of killings during the uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak five months ago. Thousands had poured into central Cairo’s Tahrir Square, a focus of the protests against Mubarak’s regime.