In Yemen, civil war comes to Saleh's door
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose compound was attacked today, appears unable to shut down the unprecedented challenge to his 32-year rule.
Antigovernment protesters attend a rally to demand the ouster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the city of Ibb, on June 3. Yemenis fled the capital on Wednesday to escape gunbattles between loyalists and opponents of President Saleh, who said he would make no more concessions to those seeking his ouster.
Reuters
Sanaa, Yemen
Yemen slipped closer to a full-blown civil war today as opposition tribesmen attacked the compound of President Ali Abdullah Saleh for the first time. While the president appears to have narrowly escaped serious injury, the escalating fighting represents an unprecedented challenge to his 32-year rule.
Mr. Saleh has long faced down opposition to his rule from disparate groups, spending vast amounts of blood and treasure to placate tribal leaders, northern rebels, and southern secessionists. But now Saleh's diverse rivals have coalesced around the nonviolent youth protest movement inspired by Egypt, presenting a more unified challenge to his grip on power.
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"We are all one in demanding that Saleh leave power," says Nuha Jamal, a youth activist in the southern port city of Aden. "All of Yemen is united in this cause.”
How Saleh courted tribal leaders
Saleh's fragile hold over the country first began breaking down when hundreds of student protesters took to the streets minutes after the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. “After Mubarak, it's Ali,” they chanted, until riot police stormed the relatively small crowd and broke up the march.
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