Friday, February 25, 2011

Yemen: Protester killed in Aden on day six of unrest

At least one man has died during a sixth day of anti-government protests in Yemen, reports say.


The victim was reportedly hit when police fired shots into the air to try and break up around 500 protesters in the southern port of Aden. In the capital Sanaa several people were injured during clashes between pro- and anti-government supporters.


President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been in power for almost 32 years in Yemen, the poorest Arab nation.


The president has already said he will not seek another term in office or hand over power to his son. But - inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt - opponents continue to stage demonstrations. Twenty-one-year-old Mohammed Alwani became the first casualty of the protests in Yemen.


He was one of a number of people who were taken to hospital after reportedly being hit by police in Aden. Medics say he had been shot in the back and he died from his injuries. Angry protesters are reported to have set ablaze a municipal building and several cars in the port town.


Students vs loyalists


In Sanaa, hundreds of students heading for a protest near the presidential palace were attacked by several hundred supporters of the president, armed with batons, stones and daggers.
The students retaliated with stones and police intervened.


Pro-government supporters clashed with anti-government activists in the capital Sanaa "The thugs and supporters of the ruling party ... want to massacre" the students, the head of the university's student union, Radwan Masud, told AFP news agency.


"We'll keep protesting until the regime leaves," another student, Murad Mohammed, told Reuters news agency. "We have no future under current conditions."


At least 500 people who rallied overnight in the agro-industrial city of Taiz, south of Sanaa, vowed to camp out again on Wednesday night.

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