Protesters shot in Yemen

TENS of thousands of people joined a funeral procession in Yemen yesterday for protesters killed by government gunmen.

The Yemeni president’s own tribe has called on him to step down, after violence on Friday saw 40 protesters killed.

Yemen’s ambassador to the United Nations and its human rights minister resigned to protest the crackdown, further undermining US-backed President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Experts said his dwindling influence was likely to either accelerate his departure or force him to resort to greater violence to retain power.