Yemen troops gun down protesters

Military forces and police snipers opened fire today on marchers calling for the removal of Yemen’s embattled president, killing at least 12 people.

The bloodshed in the southern city of Taiz – part of an intensifying crackdown on the opposition – underscored the resolve of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cling to power even as protest crowds resist attacks and former allies call for his 32-year rule to end.

It also showed the challenges facing behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to quell the nearly two-month-old uprising in a nation that Washington considers a frontline battleground against al Qaida’s most active franchise.

“We will stand as firm as mountains,” Saleh told a gathering of pro-government tribesmen.

In Taiz, witnesses described troops and gunmen, some on rooftops, firing wildly on thousands of protesters who marched past the governor’s headquarters in the city’s second straight day of violence.

Some protesters – including elderly people – were trampled and injured as marchers tried to flee, witnesses said.

Saleh has been a key ally of the US, which has given him millions in counter-terrorism aid to fight al Qaida’s branch in the country, which has plotted attacks on American soil.

So far, Washington has not publicly demanded that he step down., but the diplomatic efforts are a clear sign that the Americans have decided the danger of turmoil and instability outweighs the potential risks if Saleh leaves.

Mustafa al-Sabri, a spokesman for a coalition of opposition parties, said US and European diplomats had been in contact with Saleh. They also asked opposition leaders for their “vision” for a transition.

In response, the opposition over the weekend gave the Americans a proposal that Saleh step down and hand his powers to his vice president, who would then organise a process to rewrite the

constitution and hold new elections, Mr al-Sabri said.

The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Yemen’s neighbours Oman and Saudi Arabia, also offered to try to mediate a peace deal, but Saleh has offered no hint of compromise as long as protests rage.

“We are prepared to explore the peaceful transfer of authority in the framework of the constitution. But arm-twisting will absolutely not work,” he said on Sunday.

On Monday, he showed an even harder edge. “We are standing firm, and we will defend constitutional legitimacy by all means,” he told backers.

Saleh has offered to step down at the end of this year if a transfer of power acceptable to him is reached. But the opposition fears he is using the discussions over stepping down to stall for time – either to stay in power or to ensure he is succeeded by one of his sons.