Protesters demanding an end to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule blamed him on Tuesday for bloodshed that has raised US fears of chaos, even as indirect talks to resolve the crisis got under way.
The death toll in explosions at a bullet factory in a southern town where Islamists seemed to have driven out government forces rose to at least 140, a reminder of the instability that Saleh’s Western allies fear will spread in the poorest Arab state.
The main coalition of opposition groups said Saleh was to blame for the presence of militants, including al-Qaeda, in Abyan Province, where the blast took place on Monday after security forces quit the town following clashes with militants.
“We condemn this ugly crime and accuse the president and his people of involvement with al-Qaeda and armed groups, to whom government institutions have been handed over in Abyan. The chaos was planned in advance,” it said in a statement. “Saleh’s continuation in power is a danger to Yemen, its people and international interests.”
Abyan residents said in recent days that security forces had deserted the town of Jaar, scene of the blast. The governors of Jawf and Saada provinces in the north have also left, perhaps fearing confrontations with tribes opposed to the president.
In central Yemen, the governor of Maarib was stabbed after trying to disperse a protest earlier this month.
Saleh, who has been alternately conciliatory and defiant, has vowed in public to make no more concessions to opponents demanding he step down after 32 years of authoritarian rule.
A perennial survivor of civil wars and militancy, he has said Yemen could slide into armed conflict, fragmenting along regional and tribal lines if he leaves office immediately, but protesters who have been camped out around Sana’a University since early last month also said they found the withdrawal of security and officials in some areas suspicious, accusing Saleh of fomenting strife for political reasons.
“Saleh wants to scare us and the world with chaos, which he has started causing in some areas, but we are capable of exposing this game,” said Ali Abdelghani, 31, a civil servant among thousands of protesters in Sana’a. “There are popular committees in all provinces to bring security as the president has removed security in some places for chaos to spread.”
Yemen’s al-Qaeda wing claimed responsibility for a foiled attempt in late 2009 to blow up an airliner bound for Detroit and for US-bound cargo bombs sent in October last year.
US officials have said openly they like working with Saleh — who has allowed unpopular US military operations in Yemen against al-Qaeda — and Saleh has said the US ambassador is involved in talks to find a solution.
Sources on both sides said indirect negotiations to broker a transition from Saleh to his opponents had restarted after direct talks stalled. The aim was to agree on a framework deal whose details could be worked out in direct talks later.
“There are indirect negotiations through mediators with all parties and there are positive signs,” a government official said.
Dozens of policemen and soldiers from different units joined the protests on Tuesday.
“We are optimistic about the success of our revolution. It is just a question of time,” said Marwan Hussein, 18, a student.
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