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Arab Spring: 20 Shot Dead in Yemen; Zuma Ends Tripoli Mission

Government troops shot and killed at least 20 protestors in the southern city of Taiz in Yemen on Monday. Taiz was one of the first cities to experience unrest four months ago. Eyewitnesses tell of government forces unleashing a brutal attack on protestors in Freedom Square, sanitizing the site with bulldozers after demonstrators were forcibly removed. In Zinjibar, where Al-Qa’ida fighters were said to be battling government troops, war planes joined the fray along with artillery batteries aimed at the Al-Qa’ida positions. Some have accused besieged President Ali Abdullah Saleh of trying to use fear of Al-Qa’ida to deflect attention from his own plight. In Libya, South African President Zuma ended his talks with Mu’amar Al-Qaddafi with no sign of progress. Zuma took upon himself to mediate an end to the warfare in Libya. Al-Qaddafi’s fighting force is now estimated to be no more than 20% of what it was when unrest began in Libya following another series of defections by senior army officers. Debate over the possible presence of its forces on the ground in Libya is growing in the U.K. where many believe the Security Council resolution that authorized the use of force by the international community is being violated. The resolution prohibits "a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory,” but new footage aired by Al-Jazeera this week clearly showed armed westerners on the front line with anti-Qaddafi forces near Misrata.