YEMEN:SANA'A – Yemeni security forces used live fire and tear gas yesterday on protesters demanding an end to the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, wounding at least 84, activists said.
Protesters in the southern city of Taiz said 80 people were wounded there and four were reported wounded in the capital Sana’a. State media made no mention of the incidents.
Government website September 26 said there were marches in many cities in support of Mr Saleh and his offers of political reforms, including an offer not to run for re-election in 2013.
The Arabian Peninsula state, neighbour to oil giant Saudi Arabia, has been hit by weeks of protests trying to shake loose the president’s 32-year grip on power.
The United States, which has long seen Mr Saleh as a bulwark against an active al-Qaeda wing based in Yemen, has condemned the bloodshed and backed the right to peaceful protest. But it has also insisted that only dialogue can end the political crisis.
September 26 said three militants suspected of links to al-Qaeda were killed when they tried to attack a military checkpoint yesterday in Marib province. Also yesterday, security forces said they had arrested two suspected al-Qaeda members.
Both pro- and anti-government factions appeared to be increasingly resorting to violence, but activists said protesters had not used force in the latest demonstrations.
Some 150 people were wounded on Wednesday when security forces tried to break up a rally in the Red Sea city of Hudaida.
Yemen’s currency, the rial, has fallen by almost 8 per cent against the dollar in the past week as unrest takes its toll on the poor Arab country’s economy, traders said.