Dispatch from Yemen: Photographs by Yuri Kozyrev

2 minute read

In Yemen, over three decades of authoritarianism are unraveling in a bloody maelstrom. The regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh has brutally staved off protests against its rule, fueled by frustrations over a lack of political freedoms in the country and the perceived graft of Saleh’s family and cronies. At least 350 people have died in violence since the upheaval commenced early this year.

And since TIME’s Yury Kozyrev visited the country in May, the situation has deteriorated even further. Saleh has so far rebuffed international appeals for him to step down. All the while, key allies, including prominent generals, have defected. For days in the capital Sana’a, the militia of an influential tribe now aligned against Saleh have engaged government troops in firefights across the shattered city. In the southern city of Taiz, Saleh’s soldiers and snipers reportedly gunned down dozens of marching protesters. Yet the army appears divided, and the arm of the state — weak at the best of times — appears to have withdrawn from large tracts of this fractious, impoverished country. Militants allegedly connected to al-Qaeda’s wing in the Arabian Peninsula seized hold of the coastal town of Zinjibar early this week.

This slide into the chaos has been many in the years in the making — Yemen’s politics in recent times prove a tragicomedy of venal elites, ambitious coup-plotters and careless empires. Yet, as I wrote a year ago, the nation’s history is one of the richest and most ancient of the Arab world. Kozyrev’s photos shine a light on a country convulsed by violence, steeped in danger, seeking a way out.

—Ishaan Tharoor. Produced by Vaughn Wallace.

A poster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh is seen at the roof of a house at the old town of Sana'a, May 18, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A blind protester attends a demonstration at Change Square in Sana'a, May 16, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A demonstration at Changes Square outside of the university in Sana'a. The protesters come from all regions of Yemen and all walks of life. For four months now, they've prayed together, shared meals and debated the future of their country, May 18, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Portraits of the killed protesters at the gallery outside the university in Sana'a, May 14, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Nabel Ali Mohamed, 28, receives treatment at a makeshift field hospital in Sana'a. While protesting, Nabel was detained and tortured by security forces. They used his body as an ashtray, May 16, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A wounded Yemeni anti-government protester prays at a makeshift field hospital in Sana'a, May 19, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Supporters of President Ali Abdullah Saleh attend a rally in Sana'a, May 13, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A boy kisses a poster of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, May 17, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A young supporter kisses Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a pro-government rally in Sana'a. In a defiant speech to thousands of flag-waving supporters in the Yemeni capital, Saleh declared: "We will confront a challenge with a challenge." May 13, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A defected soldier watches anti-government rally in Sana'a, demanding the ousting of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh, May 20, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A candle lit march with the portraits of deceased protesters, May 18, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Khat market at the old town in Sana'a, May 18, 2011. Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
A shop with the posters of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh at the old town in Sana'a, May 12, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Yemeni women visit the shrine of deceased protesters in a tent city outside of the university, May 17, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Anti-government protesters, their cheeks bulging with khat, at Change Square near the university in Sana'a, May 13, 2011. Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Protesters camping outside of the university in Sana'a, May 19, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund
Protesters receive food in Sana'a, May 20, 2011.Yuri Kozyrev—NOOR for the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund

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