Sanaa, March 04: Shia Houthis say Yemeni army has opened fire on their anti-government protest rally in the northern province of Amran, killing
two people and wounding at least nine others.
The incident happened in the village of Semla, 170 kilometres from the capital Sanaa, on Friday.
“Two protesters were killed and nine others were wounded when soldiers opened fire from a military position on the demonstration calling for (President Ali Abdullah) Saleh’s departure,” said a Houthi leader that spoke on condition of anonymity, quote by AFP.
The development comes as several Yemeni groups are holding “Day of Rage” rallies across Yemen on Friday.
Yemen’s opposition and religious figures are pressing the country’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down by the end of the year .
Saleh has already been in office for 33 years with several opposition members arguing that his long-promised reforms have not materialized.
Dozens of people have died during the security forces’ crackdown on anti-government protests that began to sweep the country in January.
Government forces recently intensified their armed attacks on demonstrators, apprehending five political and human rights activists, as well as an educator and an engineer in the south.
To appease the people, Saleh made more pledge-ridden remarks in early January and promised to leave office at the end of his term in 2013 and not to hand over the reins to his son.
The protests have been motivated by the popular revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, which toppled the decades-long autocratic rule of the countries’ Western-backed dictators.
—-Agencies