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Dubai TV reported on the escalating violence in several Yemeni cities in what has become known as the "Massacre of Hay al-Qa'a and Kentucky." Yemeni security forces, snipers, and gunmen opened fire and used rocket-propelled grenades against protestors in the capital Sanaa. Amnesty International reported that 26 people were killed and hundreds more injured in Sunday's attack. Despite the violence, Yemen's youth vowed to achieve "revolutionary resolve" and try the remnants of Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime.
Following the bloodiest two days Yemen has seen since March, activists uploaded graphic videos online of regime forces using excessive force to disperse protestors. The National Council for Revolutionary Forces issued a report detailing the human rights violations committed by Saleh's regime. The Council called on the international community, the UN Human Rights Council, and all “friends of Yemen” to condemn the Yemeni regime's merciless crackdown on protestors and disregard for human rights.
Foreign Policy Magazine discussed the "Costs of Ignoring Yemen," as world powers continue to place Yemen on the "backburner" amid more pressing regional concerns. The US and Saudi Arabia's passive calls for a peaceful transition of power in Yemen were criticized, drawing attention to the fact that inattention to the Yemeni crisis has increased the risks of a real civil war in the country.
Meanwhile, the Yemen Post newspaper reported that Saudi Arabia is sending tanks to Yemen to help quell the revolution. This prompted cartoonist Carlos Latuff to portray Saleh as a puppet in Saudi Arabia's lap enjoying the "massacre" of peaceful protestors.
It has been repeatedly noted by Yemeni activists that there has been an ongoing media blackout on the events Yemen and that the crisis has received little attention from the international community. In the online campaign to mediatize the struggle of the Yemeni youths, a hashtag was created on Twitter, #SupportYemen, to encourage the use of social media to raise awareness that "silence kills." Also, a worldwide silent protest is planned to take place on September 24, during which demonstrators will "stand for two hours with tape over their mouths to symbolize the world's silence and indifference towards Yemen."
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