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'Poison gas' used on Yemeni protesters
 [Iran Press TV] Scores of Yemeni protesters have reportedly suffered injuries and poisoning after the security forces used poison gas to disperse anti-government rallies.
In addition, a report said 10 people hwere hurt as Yemeni forces fired at protesters in Sana'a. Tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters erupted into the streets of the capital, Sana'a, and the city of Taizz, both located in the west, to call on President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... to step down. Hundreds of thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in the two cities as well as the city of Aden in the south, calling for Saleh's removal and the tackling of corruption and unemployment. Some 40% of the population lives on USD 2 a day or less in the country and one third face food shortage. The protests have been met by riot police or supporters of Saleh armed with knives and batons. The corpse count in the country has surpassed 300 since anti-government protests began in late January. Also on Sunday, Yemeni women held a second day of protests against Saleh after he described the participation of women in protests "un-Islamic." Moreover, thousands gathered for the funeral of a protester who had died from wounds sustained during festivities with the security forces. Opposition leaders and Arab foreign ministers held a meeting in Soddy Arabia to discuss the stalemate in Yemen. Last week, the opposition rejected an Arab proposal that gave Saleh immunity from prosecution and called on him to pass power to his deputy. Posted by: Fred 2011-04-18 |
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