ROYG FORCES KILL SEVEN IN SOUTH YEMEN IN SEPERATE

S E C R E T SANAA 001910

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PTER YM
SUBJECT: ROYG FORCES KILL SEVEN IN SOUTH YEMEN IN SEPERATE
INCIDENTS

REF: SANAA 1878

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Press reports indicate that four people were killed
and another 15 were injured on October 13 when police opened
fire on a large group of Yemenis preparing a demonstration to
mark the 44th anniversary of the 1963 uprising in Southern
Yemen against British occupation. The event took place in
the Radfan area of Lahj Governorate approximately 270
kilometers south of Sana'a. Opposition MP Nasser al-Khabji
told a German news agency that the police "opened fire
indiscriminately at protesters." Also according to press
reports, the police claim that the protesters fired on them
first. President Saleh, in a speech on October 14, said, "I
feel sorrow for such incidents, but those who provoke
demonstrations are responsible for what happened." The Yemen
Observatory for Human Rights, an independent human rights
organization, released a statement October 14 strongly
condemning the event, calling it a "violation of people,s
right to life by some riot police who blindly achieve (follow
the) orders of authority." A source at al-Jazeera told the
embassy that all news crews had been banned from filming the
scene. He added that al-Jazeera had managed to shoot some
film but was threatened by ROYG officials that, if the film
aired, the al-Jazeera office in Sana'a would be closed.


2. (S) Also in Lahj, just before midnight on October 13, a
ROYG patrol came upon a tribal roadblock. It is unclear
exactly what ensued, but security sources indicate that the
two groups entered into a firefight in which three of the
tribesman were killed. Tribal roadblocks are not uncommon in
rural Yemen. They often are set up to keep outsiders from
entering tribally controlled lands. On other occasions they
act as unofficial toll booths collecting "fees" for the right
to travel on "tribal roads." At first the two events,
happening in the same area on the same day, created some
confusion and observers speculated that one of the events may
have, in fact, been a garbled report of the other. The
Ministry of Information, however, confirmed to emboff on
October 16 that they were separate incidents.


3. (S) Comment. These events, while tragic, are not
entirely unexpected. Tensions have been mounting in the
south for some time. Reftel predicted increasing protests,
specifically citing the October 14 holiday and President
Saleh's reported vow to deal with the issue in the south
"once and for all."
SECHE