Protesters killed after Yemeni President Saleh signs power transfer deal

[News_Editor]

Protesters killed after Yemeni President Saleh signs power transfer deal

2011-11-25 18:38:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANAA (BNO NEWS) -- At least five anti-government protesters were killed Thursday by alleged gunmen loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a protest in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a, local media reported on Friday. Dozens were injured.

Less than 24 hours after President Saleh signed a power transfer deal, nearly 100 gunmen opened fire on anti-government protesters marching in the capital's Zubairy street. At least 45 youth were injured, 29 of them by gunshot wounds, the Yemen Post reported.

After the shooting attack, youth protesters carried the injured on their shoulders and provided them medical attention. Medics in Sana'a said that, of the injured, at least three were believed to be in a critical condition.

Protesters, who are calling for the prosecution of Saleh, condemned the attacks. They held Vice President Abdu Rabu Hadi responsible for the deaths and demanded an immediate investigation into the shooting.

On Wednesday, President Saleh flew to neighboring Saudi Arabia and signed a Gulf-brokered power transfer deal which will end his 33-year-long rule over Yemen within 30 days. The plan is supposed to end 11 months of popular uprising and bloodshed in the country.

Under the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) deal, Saleh will hand over power to Hadi in return for immunity from prosecution, but some fear the government crackdown may continue under Hadi. The uprising against President Saleh has claimed at least 1,500 lives since February.

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