Yemeni Protests Turn Violent

[Guest guest]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703580004576179942063334366.html

MIDDLE EAST NEWS

MARCH 4, 2011, 11:24 A.M. ET.

Yemeni Protests Turn Violent

By OLIVER HOLMES

SAN'A, Yemen—Yemeni soldiers fired rockets on protesters in the restive northern

province of Amran Friday, killing three people and injuring seven others,

according to a Shia rebel spokesperson.

" We were staging a peaceful protest along a main road when soldiers fired

rockets on us, " said Abu Hashim, a spokesman for the group. Mr. Hashim said

there were " thousands of people " at the protest and the dead included a

70-year-old man.

Eyewitnesses said tanks were used and eight people had been killed. Government

officials couldn't corroborate these statements.

Friday's protest took place in Semla, a village about 100 miles north of the

capital of San'a. The demonstration started peacefully, with crowds chanting for

Ali Abdullah Saleh, who's been president for 32 years, to step down. When the

group approached a military base just outside the village, soldiers fired rocket

artillery, according to eyewitnesses.

The Yemeni army said the demonstrators were carrying guns. " Four soldiers were

injured in clashes with armed tribesmen, who tried to pass checkpoints with

guns. Then clashes ensued, " a security official said.

In the capital of San'a Friday, demonstrations took place peacefully, with

around 30,000 protesters continuing a sit in outside San'a University. " First

Mubarak, now Saleh, " the protesters chanting, referring to the ousted Egyptian

president, Hosni Mubarak.

At one point and mob of around 200 youths marched around the city and had a

brief face-off with pro-government men. Water canons and tear gas guns were

brought to the scene by riot police, but were not used as the crowds dispersed.

The Shia Houthi rebels, named after their deceased leader Hussein Badreddin

al-Houthi, have waged an on-again, off-again war with the government for the

past six years, complaining of religious and economic marginalization. In late

2009, Saudi border police were dragged into the conflict when Houthi rebels

crossed Yemen's northern border into the oil-rich state.

On Feb. 22, the Houthis officially joined the antiregime protesters, who have

been staging sit-ins and demonstrations in the impoverished republic since

January. In February 2010, the Houthi rebels and the government signed a truce,

but sporadic fighting continues.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country on Friday,

calling for the ousting of Mr. Saleh, who demonstrators say steals from the

state and creates a specter of al Qaeda in the country to garner military aid

from the U.S.

Mr. Saleh has been a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian

Peninsula, Yemen's local arm and the most active wing of the group.

Mr. Saleh has promised to step down after elections in 2013, but demonstrators

say he must leave power immediately. Opposition party leaders have given the

president until the end of this year to leave office peacefully.

The proposed plan seeks to end the turmoil in Yemen, which started when student

and human rights activists staged protests in solidarity with popular uprisings

in Tunisia and Egypt. Last month, many political groups joined the students,

including members of the opposition; defectors from Mr. Saleh's government; the

Houthi rebels and the Southern Movement, a loose coalition demanding south Yemen

secede from the north.