Arab Spring
Violence has escalated in Yemen after reports that the country’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh was more seriously injured in a rocket attack on his compound than originally thought.
According to reports from Al-Jazeera and the BBC, it was revealed that Mr Saleh had 40 per cent burns, internal bleeding in his skull, and concerns over a punctured lung.
As news of this broke, Yemeni insurgents sparked fresh clashes to the south of the country, calling for Mr Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, to leave.
It is believed that the injured president refused to leave office despite a transition plan drawn up by the Gulf Co-Operation Council. The uprising has brought the country to the brink of civil war and resulted in nearly 400 deaths.
The problems in Yemen echo those of Libya, which is still in the grip of civil war as ET goes to press, with reports of NATO ‘atrocities’ being spun by pro-Gaddafi forces.
Syria also has banned all external journalists from the country in a bid to clamp down on its own insurgency. In June, the northern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour was braced for an army assault after the Syrian government says 120 security forces personnel were killed there.
Meanwhile in Bahrain, 47 doctors and nurses who treated injured protesters have appeared in a Manama court charged with attempting to topple the monarchy. They have been held since March, when Bahrain declared an emergency law. The law was lifted at the beginning of June.
