The killing of an anti-government protester has hardened attitudes against Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule, according to opposition supporters who have vowed not to abandon their protests in the face of violence.
Witnesses said Abdullah Hameed Ali (28) was shot in the head last night after policemen and security agents fired on a group setting up tents in front of Sanaa University - an area that has become the focal point of the civil unrest. He later died in hospital.
"They charged at us with their guns and bats and started shooting," said Raafat Baji, who was one of around 80 people injured in the attack.
The state news agency Saba blamed the shooting on gunmen linked to a tribal leader and said police were hunting for the culprits. Opposition figures dismissed this and said the attack showed Mr Saleh was getting desperate.
"These attacks signal the beginning of the disintegration of the regime in the face of the youth revolution," said Mohammed Qahtan, a spokesman for Yemen's umbrella opposition coalition.
Yemen, a neighbour of Saudi Arabia and the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, has seen a wave a protests in recent weeks inspired by the turmoil in Tunisia and Egypt.
Almost 30 people have died in the unrest.
Mr Saleh was battling to maintain order in Yemen even before this year's unrest, struggling to quell rebellions in the north and south, while also helping the United States combat al Qaeda's active Yemeni operations.
The Saudi-backed president has offered to form what he termed as a unity government, but has refused to bow to demands to remove his relatives from the security apparatus or to step down himself before his term ends in 2013.
Police cars and armoured vehicles with armed soldiers and water cannon deployed across the capital yesterday and continued to surround the area where protesters are gathered.
"The situation is still tense, and we're expecting more attacks," said Mohammed
al-Sharfi, one of the activists who has been camping out at the Sanaa protests.
Reuters