Sanaa, March 16: Supporters of Yemen’s ruling General People’s Congress (GPC) have killed an opposition activist in a gun battle in northern Yemen.
Naji Nasm, who backed the opposition Islah (Reform) party, was shot dead during a demonstration in the northern province of al-Jawf on Tuesday.
At least eight protesters and three soldiers have been killed since Saturday, raising the death toll during the unrest to almost 40.
Anti-government protesters in Yemen are calling for the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and officials who support him.
Also on Tuesday, the security chief of the southern province of Aden, Brigadier General Abdullah Qairan, was sacked, apparently over the military crackdown on protesters in Aden, local media sources said.
Aden has witnessed the most violent clashes in the country since the beginning of the wave of protests in January.
In 2011, over twenty people have been killed by police using live bullets to disperse protesters in Aden.
Protesters and human rights activists say Qairan is responsible for the excessive use of force against the protesters.
——–Agencies