Loyalists to Saleh attack women's protest in south Yemen, injuring 10

Loyalists to Saleh attack women's protest in south Yemen, injuring 10

2011-10-11 05:57:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANAA (BNO NEWS) -- Loyalists to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh attacked an all-female protest march in the southern province of Taiz on Monday, medics and witnesses said. At least ten people were injured.

The protesters were demanding the ouster of the embattled president who recently announced that he is planning to leave power in 'the coming days.' They also celebrated the Nobel Peace Prize win of Tawakkul Karman, who has led a movement to improve women's rights in Yemen.

"Supporters of Saleh's regime threw stones and a sound bomb at a march of woman protesters heading towards the epicenter protest camp dubbed Liberation Square in al-Jahmalia area in Taiz, wounding more than ten women," a medic told the Xinhua news agency.

Despite the attack, the protesters continued their march, witnesses said.

Violence in the country has continued to escalate after Saleh threatened with civil war after refusing, for a third time, to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative for power transition on May 22. The uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh has claimed at least 1,500 lives since February.

Tensions have further escalated since Saleh returned to Yemen after spending more than three months in Saudi Arabia to recover from injuries he sustained in a rocket attack which hit the mosque of the presidential palace in Sanaa on June 3. On Saturday, Saleh said he is planning to leave power 'in the coming days', although a ruling party official immediately said that Saleh has no intention to leave.

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