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Two more Yemeni protesters shot dead
Yemeni security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters, killing and wounding several civilians, medics say.Despite a deal that would see 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. ... stand down within a month, hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters erupted into the streets across Yemen on Monday, calling on Saleh to quit immediately. Protesters say they do not trust Saleh to leave office as promised since he has made similar pledges in the past which he did not keep. In the city of Ibb, south of the capital Sana'a, at least one protester was killed and over 30 others maimed after security forces and Saleh loyalists attacked a protest march. "Security forces rubbed out a protester and maimed 30 others, eight of them by live rounds," a medical source in Ibb told AFP. According to witnesses, gunnies "belonging to the ruling party" also attacked a sit-in demonstration in the southeastern province of al-Bayda, killing at least one protester. Also in the flashpoint city of Taizz, at least 10 protesters were maimed after security forces fired live rounds and tear gas at anti-regime demonstrators to disperse the huge crowd. Similar anti-Saleh rallies were also held in Sana'a, Mukalla and Hudaydah. However, The essential However... there were no reports of festivities there. "No rest, no respite for the executioner," the protesters shouted. Protesters also condemned an exit plan offered by Arab states of the Persian Gulf under which Saleh would hand over power to his deputy in 30 days in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Yemen's ruling party, the General People's Congress, accepted the plan on Saturday. Saleh has ruled Yemen for 32 years. According to local sources, at least 300 protesters have been killed and many others injured during festivities with riot police and forces loyal to the Yemeni president armed with batons, knives and sticks. Posted by: Fred 2011-04-26 |
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