14 protesters killed in Yemen's capital

[News_Editor]

14 protesters killed in Yemen's capital

2011-05-12 05:59:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANAA, YEMEN (BNO NEWS) -- At least 14 protesters were killed and hundreds were injured on Wednesday when Yemeni security forces fired live ammunition during an anti-government protest in Sana'a, doctors said.

Xinhua news agency reported that security forces used heavy machine guns and tear gas to storm a camping square of tens of thousands at Sana'a University. Earlier, doctors and eyewitnesses told CNN that at least 169 people had been injured, some critically.

"Security forces are aiming for a massacre in Sana'a," said Abdul Wahab Anesi, a medical staff spokesman at a field hospital set up in Change Square, as cited by CNN.

Yemen security forces on Wednesday also killed three people and injured many others in the southwestern Taiz province. A senior security official, however, denied that forces fired on protesters in Taiz.

"Security forces were preventing attacks on civilians led by gangs of the opposition," the official said. "Security forces did not shoot at protesters. Gangs of the JMP were the shooters." The JMP stands for the joint meeting parties, a coalition of opposition parties.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Bahri, head of the political office at the opposition Haq party, said the protesters were unarmed and were marching peacefully when they were shot.

Protesters continue calling for the immediate ouster of President Saleh as the Gulf Cooperation Council is pushing its plan for a peaceful transition in Yemen. Protesters reject the proposed plan, which includes the resignation of Saleh within 30 days, as they want an immediate ouster of the long regime.

According to the United Nations, the recent political turmoil has left an estimated 140 deaths and hundreds of injuries as security forces have been firing live ammunition in order to disrupt mass protests.

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