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British ambassador among those penned into United Arab Emirates embassy by mob loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh
Western and Arab diplomats, including the British ambassador to Yemen, were trapped inside an embassy in Sana'a for several hours on Sunday by a mob loyal to the president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who refused to sign a deal arranging for him to leave office in return for legal immunity.
The US and some Arab envoys were reported to have been ferried by Yemeni army helicopters last night from the United Arabs Emirates embassy to the presidential palace where members of Saleh's ruling party signed the deal, but not Saleh himself. The agreement's Gulf Arab sponsors last night declared that the plan was suspended, raising fears of deepening confrontation between the president's supporters and opponents.
According to Foreign Office sources, the British ambassador, Jonathan Wilks, was "now safe in his residency, he's fine, frustrated, but fine".
Saleh has backed out of signing a political settlement, brokered by the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), on two previous occasions. Even if he does sign and hand power to his vice-president, it is not clear whether the agreement will satisfy opposition activists who demand Saleh's immediate departure and the complete dismantling of his regime.
Opposition leaders signed the deal on Saturday, but pro-democracy protesters massed in central Sana'a to reject it. They held Yemeni flags and banners that read: "Now, now Ali, down with the president!" and "Go out Ali!" Meanwhile pro-Saleh demonstrators erected a tent in Sana'a, blocking a main street, and flew banners appealing to the president: "Don't go, don't sign."
Thousands of regime loyalists, many of them from the surrounding countryside, flooded into the capital setting up road blocks, forcing shops to shut, and scrawling pro-Saleh slogans on government buildings.
A group of four hundred tribesmen armed with traditional daggers and Kalashnikovs encircled the UAE embassy, blocking off the near by roads with SUV's and toyata pick-up trucks.
"We came here to protect our nation from chaos and destruction. Saleh is our ruler because he was elected in fair elections by the Yemeni people, why should he stand down just because usurpers want to seize power?" said Ahmed Al-Sowfi, a tribal sheikh from Amran who was amongst those directing the siege.
The group of diplomatic observers, which also included envoys from the EU, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, had gathered at the UAE embassy compound intending to drive to the palace for the signing. Instead they found themselves unable to leave when a pro-Saleh crowd gathered outside, apparently determined to stop them reaching their destination. CNN reported that several dozen protesters were armed with machine guns, and many more had pistols.
The Foreign Office said the route from the UAE compound to the palace had been "blocked by tribesmen and efforts are being made to clear the road".
Earlier in the day, armed men attacked a convoy of the GCC's secretary general, Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, in a bid to stop him reaching the UAE embassy. They shouted against Gulf intervention in Yemeni affairs. The motorcade of the Chinese ambassador was also attacked before a police detail was sent to disperse the crowd.
Under the GCC agreement, the opposition and elements of the Saleh regime would form a national unity government within a week, parliament would pass a law guaranteeing him immunity from prosecution for acts while in office, and, 30 days after signing, Saleh would hand over to a deputy after 33 years in power.
In his speech on the Arab world on Thursday, President Obama said Saleh needed to "follow through on his commitment to transfer power". There are concerns that if the deal is not signed soon, clashes could break out between military units that have defected from Saleh since the protests first erupted and those that have stayed loyal.