Yemeni protestors come under fire

Yemeni security forces opened fire on demonstrators and fired rocket-propelled grenades at an office building in a crackdown on protest in the flashpoint city of Taiz, killing three people.

The attacks came a day after protesters began a new sit-in on one of the city’s main streets, and as tensions escalate across the country between embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh and protesters seeking his ouster.

The security forces opened fire on demonstrators and turned water cannon and tear gas on them at dawn, witnesses said.

The security forces also chased protesters into side streets and buildings where they took cover. They launched grenades on an office building where they believed protesters were hiding.

One protester, Ghazi al-Samai, said people barricaded themselves in small streets, using rocks and garbage bins to ward off security forces.

Yemen is reeling from nearly three months of protests demanding Saleh’s removal. In office for over three decades, Saleh has intensified his crackdown on the protests and refused a regional mediation offer.

More than 140 people have reportedly been killed in the government crackdown on the escalating protests.

The deal for Saleh to step down – negotiated by the Gulf Co-operation Council - appeared close to success a week ago. But the president backed away from it last weekend by saying he would have aides sign it rather than doing so himself. The resulting deadlock threatens to plunge the already unstable nation deeper into disorder.