Libya after Gaddafi: A dangerous precedent?

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 22 Oct 2011

Libya after Gaddafi: A dangerous precedent?

The death of a dictator is being celebrated, but foreign intervention could prove problematic in the long-term. By Richard Falk

The fall and death of the despised and despotic leader who had ruled for 42 years naturally produced celebrations throughout Libya, especially in the main cities. Although his end was bloody and vindictive, warning that a violent aftermath could further spoil the outcome of the struggle, we should remember that Gaddafi’s early rants against his own people invited a harsh popular response if their turn came.
Recalling WH Auden’s famous line, “Those to whom evil is done/ do evil in return,” it is almost inevitable that when a leader refers to his opponents as "rats" and pledges to hunt them down house by house the stage is set for the kind of violent drama that played out a few days ago in the dictator’s last stand at Sirte.
At this time, there seems to be a leadership vacuum in Libya that is not likely to be filled very soon. It is difficult to discern whether tribal loyalties will provide primary political identities now that the unifying effect of hostility to the Gaddafi regime can no longer suppress diverse goals and ambitions. Much of the fighting in the last stages of the struggle was under the semi-autonomous control of militia-like commanders such as Abdel Hakim Belhadj who led the attack on Tripoli or Fawzi Bukatef who seemed to command the assaults on those places where Gaddafi loyalists gathered for their last stand.
Such commanders do not usually submit to civilian control, presenting an immediate threat to national coherence. The Transitional National Council has seemed mainly successful so far in lending international credibility to the anti-Gaddafi forces. We will soon learn whether it can also represent the collective will of the Libyan people sufficiently to manage the interim process that will be needed before the establishment of an elected government can be arranged.

Gaddafi's children in exile, on the run, or dead

Courtesy: "Reuters", 21 Oct 2011
Gaddafi's children in exile, on the run, or dead
By David Stamp and Giles Elgood

(Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's eight children, whose pampered lives ranged from security chief and U.N. goodwill ambassador to playboy and professional footballer, earned reputations for extravagance, violence and bizarre behavior almost equaling their father's.
Amid the chaos of war, three now appear to be dead like the deposed Libyan leader himself, four are scattered in exile and one remains on the run, their lives of privilege disrupted or ended by the collapse of Gaddafi senior's 42-year rule.
Jealousy and greed long poisoned relations within the family but when rebellion broke out in February, Gaddafi's seven sons and one daughter closed ranks around their father, breaking off lives that in many cases had been lived abroad.
A leaked U.S. diplomatic report from 2009 noted that "internecine strife is nothing new for the famously fractious family." Several Libyan officials lost their jobs or were forced into exile after falling foul of family members.
Perhaps the best internationally known son, Saif al-Islam, is also the most elusive. A senior official of the National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Friday that he was fleeing south from the last Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte toward Libya's border with Niger, where another son has already taken refuge.
Al Arabiya TV quoted NTC officials as saying Saif al-Islam had been captured near Misrata but this was unconfirmed.

Gaddafi: Death of an era, dawn of an era - By Robert Grenier (in Aljazeera English)

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 21 Oct 2011

Gaddafi: Death of an era, dawn of an era

Gaddafi's death is symbolic of the death of an old paradigm that no longer has a place in today's world.

By Robert Grenier

First accounts are almost never correct, but if the circumstances of Libyan Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi's death prove to be as reported, they will provide yet another, final irony in a life replete with them. The man whose success relied upon a combination of great-power manipulation and the ability to sustain the fantasy that he embodied the aspirations of his people succumbed in the end to a combination of great-power military intervention and the genuine aspiration of his people for a future free of his vicious domination.

Battle for Libya: Key moments: Timeline of decisive battles and political developments in Libya's uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 20 Oct 2011

Battle for Libya: Key moments

Timeline of decisive battles and political developments in Libya's uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Gaddafi has been killed and Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi's hometown, has finally been seized by fighters of the National Transitional Council (NTC) after weeks of heavy fighting.
On Thursday, NTC commanders said they had wrested the toppled leader's last remaining stronghold, thereby liberating the entire country.

It is a watershed moment for Libya that has been swept by turmoil over the past several months.
Al Jazeera looks back at some of the key developments since the uprising against Gaddafi began.

February 17: The Day of Revolt. The first major protests and violent clashes in Libya actually began two days before this, on February 15, mostly in Benghazi. Hundreds gathered outside the police station, and a number of protesters were killed.
But February 17 was the official "day of revolt," an effort to bring thousands of protesters into the streets. Major demonstrations were reported in Benghazi, Ajdabiya, Darnah and Zintan, among others; Gaddafi forces responded by firing live ammunition at the crowds. More than a dozen demonstrators were killed.
Gaddafi reportedly released dozens of prisoners from jail and paid them to fight against the protesters.
The "day of revolt" coincided with the fifth anniversary of a major anti-Gaddafi protest in Benghazi.
Protests continued to escalate after February 17, and there were widespread reports that Gaddafi had hired mercenaries to supplement his security forces and suppress the demonstrations.

Muammar Gaddafi killed as Sirte falls

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 21 Oct 2011

Muammar Gaddafi killed as Sirte falls

Former Libyan leader killed in apparent attempt to flee last bastion, but circumstances of his death remain unclear

Muammar Gaddafi has been killed after National Transitional Council fighters overran loyalist defences in the toppled Libyan leader's hometown and final stronghold of Sirte.

But questions remained on Thursday over the circumstances of Gaddafi's death as footage appeared to show he had been captured alive, following an apparent attempt to flee the besieged coastal city in a convoy which came under fire from French warplanes and a US drone aircraft.



Other footage showed Gaddafi's lifeless and bloodied body being dragged along a road.
"We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Muammar Gaddafi has been killed," Mahmoud Jibril, the de facto Libyan prime minister, told reporters on Thursday in Tripoli, the capital.
Asked what would be done with Gaddafi's body, he said: "It doesn't make any difference, as long as he disappears".

Obituary: Muammar Gaddafi: One of the world's most eccentric and unpredictable leaders, Gaddafi dominated the world stage for decades

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 22 Oct 2011

Obituary: Muammar Gaddafi

One of the world's most eccentric and unpredictable leaders, Gaddafi dominated the world stage for decades

After 42 years at the helm of his sparsely populated, oil-rich nation, Muammar Gaddafi - the Arab world's longest-ruling leader - lost his grip on power after a six-month uprising.
Since he lead a successful military coup in 1969, Gaddafi styled himself as Libya's "brother leader" and the "guide of the revolution", as an almost paternal figure looking after Libya's six million inhabitants.
His relationship with the rest of the world was erratic. For years, Gaddafi was known in the West as a pariah, blamed for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jumbo jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. After years of denial, Libya acknowledged responsibility and agreed to pay up to $10m to relatives of victims; Gaddafi also declared he would dismantle all weapons of mass destruction.
Those moves eased him back into the international community.
In February, only weeks after street protests brought down the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, a rebellion against Gaddafi's rule started in the country's east.

UN calls for probe into Gaddafi's death: UN Special Rapporteur Christof Heyns warns the killing could be a war crime

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 22 Oct 2011

UN calls for probe into Gaddafi's death

Special Rapporteur warns the manner of the deposed Libyan leader's killing could be a war crime

The UN has called for an international investigation into the death of Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed Libyan leader, saying it could well have been a war crime.

Christof Heyns, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, told Al Jazeera on Friday that a proper investigation into the exact events surrounding Gaddafi’s death was a key test for Libya’s future as a democratic and accountable state.

“The Geneva conventions are very clear that when prisoners are taken they may not be executed willfully and if that was the case then we are dealing with a war crime, something that should be tried.”

“It’s important that the new government will be placed on a solid basis where there is accountability for illegal actions.  I think it would be good if there was international investigation into this as well, and it’s not simply Mr Gaddafi  but also there’s the dangers of reprisals against others as well and that is where it is important to draw the line to say that  new system in place  one of  accountability.”

Yemen regime's message to Cartoonist Kamal Sharaf, 'We can squash you' (Aljazeera English, 28 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 28 May 2011

Yemen to cartoonist: 'We can squash you'

Exposing crimes of Yemen's president and the US military is a dangerous game, one cartoonist learns. By Nir Rosen

As the Yemeni standoff continues, dictatorial president Ali Abdallah Saleh stubbornly clings to the seat of power.
If indeed the country descends into civil war it will be among the elites competing for power rather than the people against the government, though civil war is not inevitable. As in Egypt, the Yemeni regime is more complicated than just Saleh himself. It is a vast security apparatus linked to a small clique which controls the country's economy. They are equally implicated in Saleh's crimes, even if it often appears that Saleh is the state.
Few people know this better than Kamal Sharaf, a freelance cartoonist.

G8 aid announcement for Tunisia & Egypt: ‘Arab Spring Could Lead to African Drought’ (IPS News, 28 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Inter Press Service (IPS)", 28 May 2011
‘Arab Spring Could Lead to African Drought’
By A.D.McKenzie
DEAUVILLE, France, May 28, 2011 (IPS) - Stressing that there is only so much money to go around, development experts worry that the aid package the Group of Eight (G8) has announced for North Africa may mean fewer funds for the rest of the continent.
During their two-day summit here that ended Friday, G8 leaders envisaged financial aid of some 40 billion dollars to Tunisia and Egypt, with other countries in the region set to benefit when democratic reforms take hold.
The G8 also announced a "renewal" of their partnership with Africa, welcoming the "spread of democracy" and the "new dynamism" of African nations. The group met with leaders of seven African states and, for the first time, adopted a joint declaration with them.

Qadhafi's GMMR (Great Man-Made River): Water Emerges as a Hidden Weapon in Libya (IPS New, 27 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Inter Press Service (IPS)", 27 May 2011
Water Emerges as a Hidden Weapon
By Simba Russeau
CAIRO, May 27, 2011 (IPS) - Libya’s enormous aquatic reserves could potentially become a new weapon of choice if government forces opt to starve coastal cities that heavily rely on free flowing freshwater.
With only five percent of the country getting at least 100 millimetres of rainfall per year, Libya is one of the driest countries in the world.
Historically, coastal aquifers or desalination plants located in Tripoli were of poor quality due to contamination with salt water, resulting in undrinkable water in many cities including Benghazi.
Oil exploration in the southern Libyan desert in the mid-1950s revealed vast quantities of fresh, clean groundwater - this could meet growing national demand and development goals.

Russia joins Western chorus; says it believes Libyan leader Gaddafi should quit (Reuters, 27 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Reuters", 27 May 2011
Russia joins Western chorus for Gaddafi to go

By Joseph Logan 
TRIPOLI

(Reuters) - Russia believes Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi should quit and could help broker his departure, a senior Russian official said on Friday in an important boost to NATO powers bent on ending his 41-year rule.
It was a striking change in tone from Kremlin criticism of Western air strikes in Libya officially intended to protect civilians in a civil war but effectively taking the side of rebels seeking Gaddafi's removal and democratic change.
NATO said it was preparing to deploy attack helicopters over the Arab North African state for the first time to add to the pressure on Gaddafi's forces on the ground.

Fawaz al-Haraki, The Martyr of Syria's crackdown (Aljazeera English)

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 24 May 2011

Syria's crackdown: Why did Fawaz die?

Secret police are raiding hospitals to round up people who were injured during anti-government protests. Hugh Macleod and a special correspondent

Fawaz al-Haraki had only minutes to live.
As the shots rang out, Abu Haidar and the other protesters ran for cover, grimly familiar with what to do when the mukhabberat (secret police) attacked.
But Fawaz fell, the blood soaking his trousers where the bullet from a Syrian secret policeman had torn into his leg.
It was Friday April 22 in the industrial city of Homs, famous for being the nation's main producer of jokes and cement.

Egypt, The real face of Military Regime: Thousands of activists disappear at hands of Military (Aljazeera English)

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 20 May 2011

Egypt's crackdown now wears camouflage

The military has seized on post-revolution fears to disappear thousands into its opaque prisons.

The Israeli embassy in Cairo – the first of its kind and one of only two in the Arab world – sits on the top floor of an unremarkable 15-storey office building near the Nile, a short drive south and across the river from the revolutionary epicentre of Tahrir Square. From the roof, a pole protrudes and makes a right angle high above Ibn Malek Street. Fluttering from the pole is one of the most hated symbols in the Middle East: the Star of David.
Thousands of Egyptians protested below that flag on Sunday afternoon, the 63rd anniversary of Israel's independence. They wanted their post-revolution government to hear demands that Egypt break ties with Israel. Instead, they ran into a harsh post-revolution reality: The unchecked power of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Mohammed al-Saleh & 'The price of return': 17 Year old Martyr of Nakba Day, 15 May 2011 (Aljazeera English)

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 26 May 2011

The price of return

The May 15 Nakba protests took a toll on one family in particular, losing a son that made the ultimate sacrifice. By Matthew Cassel

Seventeen-year-old Mohammed al-Saleh grew up in Burj al-Shemali refugee camp in south Lebanon, caring little about politics and more about football and FC Barcelona. However, when it came to Palestine, Mohamed's 16-year-old cousin, also named Mohammed, described him as saying, "He would always say that Palestinians inside [under Israeli occupation] sacrifice a lot, and we also have to sacrifice." 
His sacrifice came on May 15, Nakba Day.
On that day, hundreds of buses carrying tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon travelled south to the border with Israel to stage a demonstration calling for the right to return. It was that same border that 63 years ago thousands of Palestinians crossed after more than 700,000 fled their homes fearing attacks by Zionist militias. Jews in Israel celebrate May 14 each year as their state's independence, however, Palestinians commemorate May 15 as the Nakba, or "catastrophe".

Death in the Mediterranean: Did European Soldiers Fail to Help Refugees in Distress? (Spiegel, 25 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Spiegel International, Germany", 25 May 2011
Death in the Mediterranean 
Did European Soldiers Fail to Help Refugees in Distress? 
By Fiona Ehlers and Clemens Höges

Over 60 African refugees, including women and children, recently died trying to reach Europe when their boat ran adrift for two weeks in the Mediterranean. Western military personnel allegedly saw the boat and did nothing to help. Now the United Nations is investigating the case. SPIEGEL talked to survivors and reconstructed the course of events.

It was a brief moment of happiness on a voyage that would end in death for many on board. They held a child up in the air, cheered and hugged each other. They were so delirious that they almost caused the overcrowded boat to capsize.

A helicopter was circling above their heads, say three of the nine survivors of the dramatic voyage, as they sit in Shousha refugee camp on the Tunisia-Libyan border. They say that they were able to make out the word "army" on the fuselage. Two months since their failed attempt to flee Libya, they can still write the word on a piece of paper and make a detailed drawing of a helicopter.

Tahrir Square in Madrid: Spain's Lost Generation Finds Its Voice (Spiegel International, 19 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Spiegel International, Germany", 19 May 2011
Tahrir Square in Madrid
Spain's Lost Generation Finds Its Voice
Young people in Madrid have occupied the city's Puerta del Sol square in protest against high unemployment and the political establishment. They are calling for a boycott of the main parties in weekend elections -- and some have begun comparing them to protesters in Egypt earlier this year.

They have been dubbed the "lost generation," with many of them unable to find jobs and forced to live at home as a result of the economic crisis. But now Spain's young people appear to have found their voice -- and they are taking their anger with their country's politicians into the streets.

Protests are continuing on Madrid's landmark Puerta del Sol square on Thursday. Many thousands of young people gathered on the square on Wednesday, defying a ban on the demonstration. BBC reported that as many as 2,000 stayed the night on the square. The young people are protesting against high unemployment, the Spanish government's handling of the economic crisis and the political establishment. They want a boycott of the major political parties, the ruling Socialists (PSOE) and the center-right opposition People's Party (PP), in this weekend's elections. Over 8,000 municipal and 13 regional elections are being held on Sunday.

Egypt in flux: 100 day after Mubarak's Fall, sober realities and optimism (Guardian, 19 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Guardian, UK", 19 May 2011
Egypt in flux: sober realities and optimism 100 days after Mubarak's fall

Energised by the Tahrir Square revolt, Egyptians are now struggling to cast a new political mould for the country

By Ian Black, Middle East editor Overlooking the Nile in the heart of Cairo, a few hundred metres from Tahrir Square, stands the charred headquarters of the now defunct National Democratic party.
Its smashed windows and blackened facade symbolise the fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime on 11 February. It is eerily deserted, apart from a lone sentry slumped by the gate at night.
The square itself, centre of the political earthquake, has become a tourist attraction where revolutionary T-shirts, stickers and other memorabilia vie with the model sphinxes, pyramids and papyrus on sale in the souvenir shops. It's as if the extraordinary events of the recent past already belong to ancient history.
But Egypt's revolution is unfinished business, its immediate prospects clouded by insecurity, economic worries and sectarian violence. The generals who so dramatically ditched their commander-in-chief remain in charge of the interim civilian government.

Sunday marks the 100th day since Mubarak was ousted, but there are still many question marks about the future.

Obama to pledge Billions of Dollars in aid to back 'Arab Spring' in Middle East (Guardian, 19 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Guardian, UK", 19 May 2011
Barack Obama to back Middle East democracy with billions in aid

President pledges cash to support Egypt and Tunisia after criticism US has been too slow to support uprisings

By Ewen MacAskill in Washington

Barack Obama is to announce that the United States and the west will pour billions of dollars into the Middle East in support of Egypt, Tunisia and other countries embracing democracy, a move the White House portrayed as being on the scale of aid to former communist countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Speaking in Washington, the president will attempt to reposition the US as a champion of the newly-emerging Arab democracies. His speech comes amid criticism that the US has been too slow to support the uprisings, and has adopted contradictory approaches in its dealings with different countries.
It is his most important speech on the Middle East since Cairo in 2009, when he called for a new beginning in relations between the US and the Muslim world. The support for Obama in the Arab world in 2009 has since dropped sharply.

IAEA inspectors' mobile phones and laptops may have been hacked into by Iranians (Guardian, 19 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Guardian, UK", 19 May 2011
UN nuclear watchdog investigates Iran hacking claims

International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors say mobile phones and laptops may have been hacked into by Iranians

The UN nuclear agency is investigating reports from its experts that their mobile phones and laptops may have been hacked into by Iranian officials while the equipment was left unattended during inspection tours, diplomats have told the Associated Press.
One of the diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency was examining "a range of events, ranging from those where it is certain something has happened to suppositions", all in the first quarter of this year. He said the Vienna-based watchdog was alerted by inspectors reporting "unusual events", suggesting that outsiders had tampered with their electronic equipment.
Two other diplomats in senior positions confirmed the essence of the report but said they had no further information. All three envoys come from IAEA member nations and spoke on condition of anonymity because their information was privileged.

Agency spokeswoman Gill Tudor said the IAEA had no comment on the issue. IAEA inspectors tour various facilities in Iran every other week.
A woman answering the phone of Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's senior envoy to the agency, said Soltanieh "wishes to give no interviews".
An agency official, who also spoke on condition that he not be identified, said strict security measures included inspectors placing their mobile phones in seamless paper envelopes, sealing them and writing across the seal and the envelope to spot any unauthorised opening.
He said inspectors were not allowed to take their phones with them while touring Iran's uranium enrichment facilities and other venues. Laptops were either locked in bags or sealed the same way as phones when they were left unattended by inspectors. The computers were also sometimes left unattended in hotel rooms at the end of a work day, he said.
But another diplomat said the Iranians had found ways to overcome the security measures. He said he had no further details.
Iran has been under IAEA inspections for nearly a decade after revelations that it was running a secret uranium enrichment programme. It has been hit with four rounds of UN security council sanctions over its refusal to halt the activity. Tehran insists it wants only to provide nuclear energy for its rising population and notes that the nuclear non-proliferation treaty allows for enrichment as a source of fuel.
But international concerns have grown over the uranium enrichment programme, which has the potential to make fissile warhead material. Also, Iran refuses to co-operate with UN investigations of suspicions that it ran alleged experiments related to making nuclear weapons.
Low-enriched uranium can be used to fuel a reactor to generate electricity, but if it is further enriched to around 90% purity, it can be used to develop a nuclear warhead.
Olli Heinonen, who stepped down last year as the IAEA's deputy director general in charge of investigating Iran's nuclear programme, said information on the laptops was encrypted – and therefore difficult to decipher. Anyone gaining access to information on phones would find little sensitive material, he said.
Heinonen speculated that any attempt to access such equipment might have been meant to plant spyware to infect the IAEA computer network once the phones or laptops were connected, and siphon off information.
"It's possible if there is tampering that something is planted in the computer and when you work with sensitive data it transmits it or it contaminates other computers with sensitive information – like Stuxnet," he said.
IAEA officials attribute a temporary breakdown of Iran's enrichment programme late last year to the Stuxnet computer worm, and Tehran has acknowledged that Stuxnet affected a limited number of centrifuges – a key component in uranium enrichment – at its main facility in the central city of Natanz. Tehran blames the United States and Israel for creating and planting the malware.

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Yemen: Rivals fail to sign GCC-brokered deal as President Saleh backs out again (Aljazeera English, 18 May 2011)

Courtesy: "Aljazeera English", 18 May 2011

Yemen rivals fail to sign GCC-brokered deal

Gulf mediator leaves Sanaa after President Saleh refuses to ink plan that would have seen him stepping down in a month.

Yemen's president has for a second time backed out of a Gulf-sponsored deal to transfer power.
The long awaited agreement brokered by the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) would have seen Ali Abdullah Saleh stepping down within a month.
Yemen's opposition had earlier said the deal would be signed on Wednesday.
But the head of the GCC left Sanaa without securing a signed agreement.
The departure of Abdullatif al-Zayani suggested that differences remained despite the government and opposition earlier agreeing on the deal in principle.
Zayani had been in Sanaa since Saturday to try to persuade the sides to sign the deal, with help from US and European diplomats.

The White House, meanwhile, urged Saleh to sign and implement a transition of power deal so that the country could "move forward immediately" with political reform.
John Brennan, an adviser to US President Barack Obama, called Saleh earlier in the day, the White House said in a statement.
"Brennan noted that this transfer of power represents the best path forward for Yemen to become a more secure, unified, and prosperous nation and for the Yemeni people to realize their aspirations for peace and political reform," the statement said.
Brennan also reiterated that all parties in Yemen should "refrain from violence and proceed with the transition in a peaceful and orderly manner."
Earlier confirmations
Earlier, Al Arabiya television had quoted an adviser to the Yemeni president as confirming the signing would take place on Wednesday.
The opposition, whose coalition includes Islamists and leftists, said that among the minor modifications in the deal were changes in who would sign and in what capacity for the opposition and for the government.
"The president will sign for the government in his capacity as president of the republic and as head of the ruling party," Yahya Abu Usbua, an opposition official, told the Reuters news agency.
But some protest groups had said they would not accept the GCC plan.
The plan mediated by the GCC - a group of Gulf states - hit several snags in the past few weeks, with Saleh refusing to sign on technicalities.
Modifications proposed by the ruling party, passed on to the opposition by diplomats, would let the ruling party appoint a unity government for the transition period until elections and would also change which opposition representative would sign the deal, the opposition leader said.
Sustained protests
Saleh, who has outlasted previous opponents' attempts to challenge his power, indicated in April he would sign the Gulf deal, but refused to put his name to it in the final hours.
He said at the time he would only sign in his capacity as ruling party leader, not as president.
He and his party have then agreed that he would sign as president of both the party and the country.
The United States and neighbouring oil giant Saudi Arabia, both targets of foiled attacks from al-Qaeda's Yemen wing, have been keen to see an end to Yemen's political stalemate out of concern that continued chaos could give the group more room to operate freely.
On Tuesday, Yemenis marked 100 days of protest against the government.
In the southern port city of Aden, gunmen in civilian clothes fired into the air at a protest camp early on Tuesday morning. Protesters said that this was an apparent attempt to scare them out of the area they have camped out for months, demanding Saleh's immediate ouster.
Residents and medics said several were hurt but no one was killed. Fleeing protesters, some of whom hurled stones at their attackers, quickly returned to their camp after the clashes.
Elsewhere in the south, gunmen shot dead two soldiers and a civil servant as they drove up in a lorry to a security checkpoint in the southern city of Mukalla, a local official said.

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