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| Arabia |
| Six killed after Houthi rebels fire on protesters |
| 2015-03-25 |
| [ARABNEWS] Iranian catspaws fired bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters demanding they withdraw from a southwestern province, killing six demonstrators, wounding scores more and escalating tensions in a country on the verge of civil war. The rebels, known as Houthis, seized the capital Sanaa in September and have been advancing south alongside forces loyal to former President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... . In recent days they have closed in on the southern port city of Aden, where the internationally recognized President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is now based. Massive protests were held in the third largest city of Taiz -- which the rebels largely seized over the weekend -- and in Torba, some 60 miles (100 kilometers) away, where witnesses said the streets were filled with thick black smoke from burning tires and where protesters torched three armored vehicles. "Torba turned into a ball of fire," said Khaled Al-Asswadi, a resident. He said the protesters prevented the Houthis from advancing into the city. A medical official said six protesters were killed and dozens maimed in Torba. Local activists posted pictures on social media of what they said were dead protesters, their clothes drenched in blood. Another witness, Mohammed Salem, said the Houthis and Saleh's forces fired anti-aircraft guns to scare off the protesters, "but the number of protesters increased instead." In a statement, Yemen's Socialist Party warned that the Houthis' invasion of the mostly Sunni south would set off a "sectarian war." Gov. Shawki Hayel of Taiz province meanwhile accused top security commanders of mutiny, saying a special forces commander ordered his men to disperse the protesters without consulting him, according to an official in Hayel's office. |
| Posted by:Fred |