MIDDLE EAST
18 March 2011 Last updated at 17:10 GMT Yemen unrest: 'Dozens killed' as gunmen target rally Unidentified gunmen firing on an anti-government rally in the Yemeni capital Sanaa have killed at least 39 people and injured 200, doctors told the BBC. The gunmen fired from rooftops overlooking the central square in what the opposition called a massacre. President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared a national state of emergency but denied his forces were behind the shooting. US President Barack Obama condemned the violence, urging Mr Saleh to allow peaceful protests. In a statement, he said those responsible for Friday's violence "must be held accountable". Separately, France demanded an end to attacks "by security forces and armed pro-government groups... against people exercising their rights to free speech and demonstration", Reuters reports. Yassin Noman, rotating president of Yemen's umbrella opposition group, was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying there was "no longer any possibility of mutual understanding" between the protesters and President Saleh, and he should resign, Another opposition spokesman, Mohammad al-Sabri, accused Mr Saleh of presiding over a "massacre". "This is part of a criminal plan to kill off the protesters, and the president and his relatives are responsible for the bloodshed in Yemen today," he told the Associated Press news agency. A month of violence has gripped Yemen and demonstrators reportedly gathered in other cities across the country on Friday: In the city of Taez, security forces, tanks and armoured vehicles surrounded a square where protesters had gathered, and access to the square was blocked In Mahweet, protesters reportedly captured five plain-clothes gunmen who had been firing at protesters; they were found inside the governor's house along with weapons and spent ammunition, eyewitnesses told the BBC Tens of thousands attended the funeral of a protester in the southern port of Aden, AFP reports Row of bodies BBC Arabic correspondent Abdullah Ghorab reports from Sanaa that the level of anger over the casualties is unprecedented among Yemenis. The declaration of an emergency is being seen by some as an attempt to find legal cover for suppressing peaceful protests and blocking media coverage, our correspondent adds. Photographs from Sanaa showed bloodstained, injured people being carried through crowds on stretchers or in men's arms. Other photos showed a row of dead bodies, with injuries which appeared to be consistent with bullet wounds, laid out in a mosque. Doctors at a field hospital set up in the square, which protesters have named Taghyir (Arabic for "change") Square, issued an urgent call for blood, ambulances and medical supplies. They have been using motorcycles to take wounded people to hospitals. "Most of the wounds were to the head, neck and chest," one doctor told AFP on Friday. Announcing the state of emergency, President Saleh said the country's national defence council had decided to impose a curfew on "armed men in all cities". "Security forces and armed forces will take responsibilities to maintain public security," he added. Popular revolts Yemen is one of a number of countries in the region that have seen unrest since the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia were ousted in popular revolts. Thousands of people have turned out for regular demonstrations in cities including Sanaa, Aden, Taiz and elsewhere, calling for corruption and unemployment to be tackled and demanding the president step down. Some 40% of the population live on $2 (£1.20) a day or less in the country, and a third face food shortages. The protests have often been met by riot police or supporters of President Saleh armed with knives and batons. The president has been in power for 32 years, facing a separatist movement in the south, a branch of al-Qaeda, and a periodic conflict with Shia tribes in the north. He has said he will not seek another term in office in 2013 but has vowed to defend his regime "with every drop of blood". ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
