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Thousands protest against crackdown in Yemen
[Al Arabiya Latest] Yemeni forces launched an attack on Thursday to recapture a government building occupied by separatists in the south of the country, setting off a gunfight, a local official and witnesses said.Three protesters were shot dead as security forces tried to quash a separatist demonstration in another southern province. Elsewhere in Yemen, thousands gathered for demonstrations to demand an easing of the crackdown on the south. Under international pressure to quell domestic unrest and focus its sights on al-Qaeda, Yemen earlier this week offered to hold talks with southern separatists and hear their grievances. The offer by President Ali Abdullah Saleh followed an escalation of violence on both sides in south Yemen which left a trail of dead and wounded in recent weeks while insurgent violence elsewhere in the country has faded. Demonstrations were being held in several cities, with crowds calling for the military to withdraw from southern cities and for the government to halt a sweeping campaign of arrests. In the southern town of Tor al-Baha, Yemeni forces launched an attack to recapture a government building occupied by armed tribesmen, sparking a gun battle in which two people, including a passer-by, were killed, a local official said. Tribal gunmen closed off all roads leading to the center of the town and surrounded security forces, witnesses told Reuters. "Large military forces launched a campaign this morning to retake the municipality building (in a southern province). But gunmen from the southern movement confronted them and the two sides exchanged fire," the local official said. Posted by: Fred 2010-03-12 |
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