[Iran Press TV] Yemeni government forces have opened fire on anti-regime protesters in a western port city, injuring more than two dozen demonstrators.The forces maimed at least 35 protesters, taking on the demonstrating public in the university in Hudaydah on Saturday, Rooters reported.
They used live bullets and batons to confront the people. Dozens more were also affected by teargas.
In a popular revolution that began in late January, hundreds of thousands of people have been staging regular demonstrations in Yemen's major cities. The public have been calling for an end to corruption and unemployment and demanding President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh's
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower...
ouster.
The president has been in office for nearly 33 years with several opposition members arguing that his long-promised political and economic reforms have never materialized.
Some 40 percent of Yemenis live on USD 2 a day or less and one third is wrestling with chronic hunger.
According to local reports, at least 300 protesters have been killed and many others injured during festivities with riot police and armed forces loyal to the embattled Yemeni president since the anti-Saleh demonstrations began.
The ruler has twice turned down a proposal tabled by the regional Arab grouping of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council
... the Medes and the Persians are very sensitive on the subject of the Persian Gulf, which the Arabs refer to as the Arabian Gulf...
([P]GCC) that offers him immunity in return for his resignation.
The organization's Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani was expected in Yemen on Saturday, three days after he was forced to leave the country.
Also on Saturday, Saleh said he welcomes the agreement, but called it 'a mere coup operation and part of foreign pressures and agendas.'
Rival parties are preparing to sign the deal. The opposition says it will sign it on Saturday, while Saleh's ruling party will do so on Sunday.
However,
The essential
However...
protesters have already rejected the deal and insisted on Saleh's immediate departure. They also want Saleh to stand trial for killing hundreds of protesters during anti-government rallies.