Nine people were killed and 20 were injured today in a second day of clashes between Yemeni security forces and rioters protesting against fuel price rises.
In the capital Sanaa, tanks and armoured vehicles took up positions round the presidential palace, government ministries and oil sector offices. It was the first time tanks had been seen in Sanaa since the rioting broke out yesterday.
Analysts said the riots posed a challenge to the government but would not shake the grip of long-serving President Ali Abdullah Saleh - a US ally in the war on terrorism - who has weathered worse storms in the past, including a civil war.
As calm returned to parts of Yemen tonight, protests broke out for the first time in the southern port city of Aden. Residents said police used tear gas and shot in the air in a bid to disperse protesters who threw rocks and smashed windows.
The death toll from the two days of rioting stood at 22, the heaviest in Yemeni protests since 1998 when 34 people died in two weeks of demonstrations against fuel and food price rises.
Yemen, an oil-producer with declining resources, says the fuel price rises are in line with high global oil prices and are part of reforms launched in 1995 and backed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to prevent economic collapse.
Protesters clashed earlier today with security forces in Sanaa and at least six provinces.
Three people were killed when police fired at protesters trying to break into state oil facilities in the Red Sea port town of Houdeida. In the southern Ta'iz area, two people - one a nine-year-old boy - were killed.
Two policemen were killed in the northern province of Saada while two civilians died in the eastern province of Marib.