Two killed in Yemen protests

Forces loyal to Yemen’s embattled president opened fire at protesters demanding his ouster across the country today, killing two demonstrators at two separate rallies and wounding at least 10 people at a third protest, activists said.

The latest violence came as a Gulf Arab proposal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down appears increasingly doomed, raising prospects of more bloodshed and instability in a nation already beset by deep poverty and conflict.

Yemen’s unrest erupted more than two months ago, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The near-daily protests against President Saleh, the country’s ruler of 32 years, have demanded he relinquish power immediately.

Today’s deaths came during anti-Saleh protests in Ibb and in the central city of Bayda, said activist Ibrahim al-Budani.

In the city of Ibb, 120 miles south of the capital Sanaa, demonstrators set fire to two cars used by government-paid thugs who shot at them but the attackers managed to flee, he said.

In the southern city of Taiz, presidential guard troops, who are run by Saleh’s eldest son, fired bullets and tear gas into tens of thousands of protesters gathered there, according to activist Nouh al-Wafi.

Another activist, Bushra al-Maqtari, said at least 10 protesters were wounded by gunshots in Taiz, some of them critically. Dozens suffered breathing problems from the tear gas.

Mr Al-Wafi said the protesters were rallying for President Saleh’s ouster with a simple chant: “Leave!” He said the troops prevented ambulances from getting to the wounded, and that several people and local journalists were arrested.

On Saturday, the president agreed to a formula by a Gulf Arab group, the Gulf Co-operation Council, for him to transfer power to his vice president within 30 days of a deal being signed in exchange for immunity from prosecution for him and his sons.

A coalition of seven opposition parties generally accepted the deal but thousands on Sunday remained in a permanent protest camp in Sanaa, and their leaders said they suspected the president is just manoeuvring to buy time and cling to power, as he has done in the past.

The protesters claim the opposition parties taking part in the talks with the GCC mediators do not represent them and cannot turn off the rage on the streets. They also insist they would not accept anything short of Saleh’s immediate departure.

Saleh has managed to survive politically thanks in part to the loyalty of the country’s best military units, which are controlled by one of his sons and other close relatives, and despite wide defections by many close allies in his party, his tribe and the military.

More than 130 people have been killed by security forces and the president’s supporters since the unrest erupted in early February. At least 40 were killed in a single attack on March 18 by rooftop snipers overlooking Change Square in Sanaa.