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Police crackdown kills 22 in Yemen
[Iran Press TV] Protesters continue to demand the ouster of Yemeni  President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh, despite a government crackdown on demonstrations which has killed at least 22 people.In the country's south, police rubbed out a protester in the regional capital of Aden on Monday, bringing to 22 the number of people killed in pro-democracy protests over the past nine days, a Press TV correspondent reported on Monday. Scores of others have been maimed as police continue to crack down on the protesters across the country. Anti-regime protests spread to the north of the country on Monday, with tens of thousands of Houthis demonstrating in Sa'ada to demand the ouster of Saleh, a local tribal leader said. Houthis, who say they have been discriminated against by Sana'a have fought six wars with Saleh's government. They signed a peace treaty with the government in 2010. Around a dozen opposition politicians also joined students who gathered outside Sana'a University. The president, however, vowed not to quit under pressure from protesters. "If they want me to quit, I will only leave through the ballot box," Saleh told a news conference. The president, in power since 1978, said the protests were "not new," accusing his opponents of having been behind the demonstrations for a while. Yemenis, inspired by revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia, erupted into the streets of capital Sana'a on February 12 to bring down the 32-year autocratic rule of Saleh. Posted by: Fred 2011-02-22 |
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