Fierce clashes erupted in Yemen’s second city Saturday as protesters in the capital Sanaa condemned international silence in the face of a government crackdown that left more than 15 dead the previous day.
“Oh world, the children and women of Taez are being killed…where is your conscience?” chanted tens of thousands of protesters in Sanaa who for 10 months now have been calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. “To the world and the (UN) Security Council, don’t you see Saleh is shelling Taez?” they chanted.
On Friday, government forces shelled a protest site in the flashpoint city of Taez, south of the capital, killing 15 civilians, including at least three women and three children, medics said.
Friday’s violence, which also left at least 40 people wounded, erupted when security forces loyal to Saleh began shelling areas around Freedom Square, the epicentre of the protest movement in Taez. Witnesses blamed the violence on the Republican Guard, an elite unit commanded by Saleh’s son Ahmed, accusing it of firing tank and artillery rounds into a crowd of protesting civilians. The violence continued Saturday as armed tribesmen who have thrown their support behind the protest movement clashed with government troops in the Hassab district of Taez, witnesses said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
