warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Yemen Violence Rages On As Sides Meet For A Deal

Jessika Walsten |
April 19, 2011 | 2:48 p.m. PDT

Deputy Editor

Protesters in Yemen. (Photo by Fadi Benni via Al Jazeera's Flickr)
Protesters in Yemen. (Photo by Fadi Benni via Al Jazeera's Flickr)
At least three people were killed and hundreds wounded in the Yemeni cities of Sanaa and Taiz Tuesday after security forces opened fire on protesters.

The continued violence came as the Gulf Cooperation Council met to negotiate an agreement between the oppositiona and the government for Yemen's president to step down.

The New York Times reports:

Gunfire erupted in the capital on Tuesday as government supporters threw rocks and beat protesters with sticks while security forces used tear gas and a water cannon to push back a march in the center of the city. At a nearby hospital, one protester died of a gunshot wound to the head and three others were wounded; it was unclear whether security forces or plainclothes men had opened fire. A witness said a protester threw a gasoline bomb at the water cannon.

In Taiz, the violence broke out as demonstrators tried to march along a central street and were confronted by security forces, who began shooting after protesters began to burn barricades in the street, Reuters reported. Taiz is home to the country’s longest sit-in, with protesters claiming a central area since mid-February and demanding the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

"They are resorting to these tactics to try and escalate the situation because they feel like their demands are not being met," said Mohammed al Mohammedi, a protester in Taiz.

Witnesses in Sanaa said area hospitals were operating at near capacity after the violence broke out.

"We are still receiving now from the streets tens tens more injured people," said Tariq Numan, a doctor working at a hospital outside Sanaa Univeristy.

The Tuesday talks with the GCC were to discuss a proposed transfer of power from President Ali Abdullah Saleh to his vice president. Saleh however has yet to respond to the proposal. But a Yemeni official, who spoke with the New York Times on condition of anonymity, said Saleh wants a guarantee that some opposition leaders will leave Yemen once he steps down.

Also on Tuesday United Nations Security Council met for the first time to discuss the situation in Yemen.

 

"The fact that the council meets today on Yemen sends an important signal by the international community: the negotiations should not stall and further bloodshed has to be avoided," said Peter Wittig, Germany's U.N. ambassador.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.