Hundreds of thousands of people staged protests in Yemeni cities to call on President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi and the power-sharing government to put an end to the shelling on the districts of Arhab, Nihm and Bani Al-Harith outside the capital Sanaa.
They also demanded the government to return the families, which have been displaced due to the shelling by the Republican Guard, to their areas. Many families were displaced due to the battles between tribal fighters and the Republican Guard in these areas last year.
The people rallied after the prayers on Friday and condemned the aggressions on these areas, which have recently resumed amid the implementation of a power-transfer sponsored by the GCC and the UN.
The revolutionaries, who refuse to leave change and freedom squares since they pitched their tents on the streets in main cities in early 2011, named the day: the Friday of Arhab, Nihm and Bani Jamrmouz….a humanitarian tragedy.
In Street 60th in Sanaa, the people demanded to prosecute those involved in the military operations against these areas in north of Sanaa and called for forming committees to asses the losses of the affected and damages to their houses and properties including farms.
Furthermore, they urged to restructure the armed forces on modern technical, scientific, professional and national bases to eradicate regionalism, which has been deepened by the former regime. They vowed to boycott any national dialogue unless their demands were met.
When the popular uprising escalated in mid-2011, the Republican Guard fought tribes which raided military posts in these areas killing soldiers and taking over some of the posts.
The battles continued sporadically until the power-transfer deal was reached in November ending the 2011 turmoil.
Recently, the attacks on the districts resumed but the reasons were unclear, amid orders by Hadi to reform the army.
So far, Hadi has removed senior leaders who were very loyal to the former president including his relatives. Some of the dismissed commanders rebelled against the decrees replacing them but they have given up.
The elder son of ex-president, Ahmed Ali Abdullah Saleh, is the commander of the Republican Guard.