On Tuesday afternoon, Abdu Rabbu Mansoor Hadi, Yemen’s vice-president and supposedly man in charge, announced that a cease fire had been agreed upon by all parties, starting immediately.
According to sources close to the government, the U.S and British ambassadors were present at the meeting, accompanied by the U.N. envoy to Yemen, still wanting to push forward the signature of the GCC proposal. The foreign officials congratulated Hadi on his willingness to spare the country yet more violence by wanting to negotiate.
However, since no member of the Opposition, political, tribal or military were present at the meeting; some Yemeni politicians are wondering if a truce agreed upon unilaterally has any chance of holding on.
Yaseen Noman, the Head of the Joint Meeting Parties (aka the Opposition) announced yesterday that as far as he was concerned the GCC proposal was no longer an option. He added that no immunity could ever be given to the regime after such a show of disregard to human life.
Tuesday evening, residents of the capital, Sana’a reported clashes between General Mohsen’s 1st Mechanized Brigade and the Republican Guards in al-Zubeyri Street and around the Kentucky roundabout. Mohsen was forced to retreat to his old positions, losing yesterday’s gained territories to Yemen’s elite forces.
Today, snipers are still positioned upon rooftops, shooting on site at whoever dares enter the perimeters. The roundabout has been dubbed the “Square of Death” by protesters.
Sporadic shelling can also be heard near the University, often accompanied by the sounds of automatic weapons.
Around noon today, the revolutionaries buried their dead, urging the international community to speak up against what they describe as “mass murder”. A reported 83 people have been killed since last Sunday, with hundreds still lying in hospital; children as young as 10 months old were amongst the casualties.