As talks on the GCC proposal for a peaceful transition of power appeared in the doldrums, Yemeni forces fired at protesters blockading a government building on May 9, killing a shopkeeper and two protesters in a city that has seen some of the largest rallies against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. At least 80 protesters were wounded when security forces, some in armoured vehicles, moved in to disperse the rally in the city of Taiz, south of the capital Sanaa. “A large force of police and army attacked protesters and then chased them in residential areas. They opened fire and used tear gas heavily,” said Bushra Al-Maqtari, an activist in Taiz.
The protesters had come in support of teachers and students who were demanding the Ministry of Education release their salaries and postpone final exams. The government said that groups of pro-opposition teachers besieged the provincial office of the ministry, preventing staff from working and obstructing traffic in the city’s main street.
Violence was also reported in the western port city of Hudiadah, where 15 protesters were injured in clashes with police. A massive protest was organised in Ataq, Shabwa province, to stress the demand for Saleh’s ouster and to condemn the killings of protesters.
In an important development that could add pressure on the troubled president, a leading secessionist figure said that Saleh’s regime had driven the southerners to call for separation of the south and that Yemeni people would remain united after the departure of the regime.
Many demonstrators across Yemen, who include students, tribesmen and activists, have vowed to stay on the streets until Saleh steps down. About 150 have been killed in the unrest.