A R A B I C A ???????
By Kristen Gillespie
YEMEN SHELLING
*Nine civilians, including at least one child, were killed on Friday in Yemen’s second-largest city after President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s forces shelled the neighborhood where protesters are gathered, Al Jazeera reported. The shelling continued into the early morning, where undeterred demonstrators held a rally in Taiz and in Sanaa under the banner of “Friday of No Immunity for Murderers.” Opponents of Saleh say negotiations for his removal should not allow immunity for Saleh and his family members.
*Meanwhile, the official news website 26 September reports nearly daily that Yemeni officials are involved in “ongoing efforts to restore security and stability in the country,” and to “complete the operational mechanism for the GCC initiative.” UN Special Envoy Jamal bin Omar is the latest in a long line of diplomats and international officials who have arrived in Sanaa to pursuade Saleh to resign.
NASRALLAH SPEAKS
*Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says that a war on Syria and Iran is unfolding – and the situation is in Hezbollah’s favor. The Americans and Zionists know that the war against Iran and Syria will spill over and affect the region, Nasrallah said in a speech telecast to supporters in Beirut from an unknown location. As for Syria, anyone betting on the fall of Assad’s regime will lose, Nasrallah said.
BLOOD THAT KEPT DRIPPING
*The Syrian Revolution Facebook group, now with more than 309,000 supporters, has a logo for Homs that has blood dripping off the letters. Protests continued on Friday around the country, with demonstrators in Rastan, the site of heavy fighting between the army and defectors, shouting “God, Syria, freedom and that’s it” – a play on the usual chant at rallies for Bashar al-Assad during which people chant, “God, Syria, Bashar and that’s it.”
*Here, a protest outside Aleppo – noteworthy because Aleppo itself has not joined the movement to bring down the regime. In the village of Mara, the men singing and dancing have all covered their faces to avoid detection by Syrian intelligence agencies. One man holds up a sign reading: “God is with us.”
November 11, 2011
photo credit: illustir
