Sanaa, May 12: Several protesters have been killed and dozens injured in the Yemeni capital as government forces open fire on anti-regime demonstrators, reports say.
Anti-government protesters have once again taken to the streets of the capital and major cities across the country.
The demonstrations turned violent in capital Sana’a after government forces, accompanied by plainclothes gunmen, opened fire to disperse the protesters.
At least 14 protesters were killed and hundreds of others were injured when Yemeni security forces attempted to storm a camping square of tens of thousands of anti-government protesters on Wednesday evening, doctors told Xinhua.
The doctors said that the number of dead could rise.
The protesters were heading toward the Cabinet building in a bid to bring further pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign after 33 years in power.
Security forces, using heavy machine guns and tear gas, were still firing and besieging the protesters’ square from all entrances near Sana’a University, in an apparent attempt to break into the square, the agency said.
Earlier in the southern city of Taizz, snipers shot dead two protesters and injured many more.
The protesters blocked public services and a branch of the oil ministry after police started firing live rounds and tear gas.
A similar demonstration was held in the city of Ibb.
Protests against Saleh have shown no sign of abating despite the regime crackdown. Protesters said that they would not halt their campaign to topple the president.
“We will continue with our peaceful revolution. The overthrow of Ali Abdullah Saleh is just a matter of time, so get ready for celebrations,” one protester said.
Meanwhile, political crisis deepened further after Saleh refused to sign a deal proposed by the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council ([P]GCC).
The deal proposes that Saleh should resign from his post within 30 days after signing the accord in exchange for immunity from prosecution. A new government will be formed by the opposition within seven days and should arrange presidential and parliamentary elections within 60 days.
——–Agencies