One day after Saleh's return government troops kill at least 40 in Sana'a

 Government troops on Saturday killed at least 40 people in one of the bloodiest days of Yemen's uprising, so far, AP reported..Many were killed during an attack on a protest camp. The street were literally littered with bodies. It  seemed to reflect an attempt by president Ali Abdullah Saleh and his loyalists to crush their rivals after his return a day earlier from Saudi Arabia. 

After his surprise return to Sana'a, state television broadcasted a message from president Saleh in which he called for a ceasefire to stop violence. He said he was 'carrying the dove of peace and an olive branch' and he called for a dialogue between all parties because 'the solution was not going to be found from the mounds of rifles'. What is happening, though, is exactly the oppositie. One day earlier the Gulf Cooperation Council emissarry Abdul Latif al-Zayani gave up his attempts at mediating and left San''a empty handed.The UN envoy Jamal Bin Omar, however, insited to continue attempts to get the parties together

Major general Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, once an ally of Saleh, called for international help. He warned that Saleh is pushing the country into civil war and compared him to the Roman emperor Nero, burning down his own city. In a strongly worded statement, Ali Mohsen called Saleh a "sick, vengeful soul" who treats Yemen like his personal estate. "With his return, Yemen is experiencing sweeping chaos and the harbingers of a crushing civil war which this ignorant man is determined to ignite," said Ali Mohsen, who early on in the uprising joined the opposition along with the 1st Armored Division he commands.

Sanaa has become a city divided between rival gunmen, with barracks and roadblocks manned by men in different uniforms indicating their loyalties. The city's streets have become too dangerous for the residents to venture out. Many took cover in basements because of the ongoing thuds of mortars during fighting that has killed at least 140 people the past week.

 Here is a video with almost incredible images. The video is from 21 September. (Yemen Rights Monitor)