Yemeni security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters in the capital, Sana'a, killing at least 12 demonstrators.Nearly 130 others were also injured on Wednesday after security forces fired live bullets as well as tear gas on anti-government protesters that demanded the immediate ouster of Yemeni ruler President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh.
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
Ten of the maimed are reported to be at death's door.
Mohammed al-Ibahi, a doctor at the scene of the shooting, said many of the dead and maimed suffered gunshot wounds to the head and torso, AP reported.
Clashes between protesters and security forces in the southern Yemeni city of Aden also left one protester and two soldiers dead.
The fresh wave of anti-Saleh protests come amidst opposition calls for a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience to bring down Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years.
Witnesses say at least 18 Yemeni cities and towns have so far heeded the civil defiance campaign with shops and schools closed and government offices shuttered.
According to local sources, since the beginning of anti-Saleh demonstrations across Yemen in late January, at least 300 protesters have been reported killed with many others injured during festivities with riot police and armed forces loyal to the Yemeni president.