Three people were killed in south Yemen yesterday in clashes between anti-government protesters, seen here in this May 2 photograph, and security forces.
(Reuters)
3 die in clashes in south Yemen; US calls for end to tension
Three people were killed in south Yemen yesterday in clashes between anti-government protesters, seen here in this May 2 photograph, and security forces.
(Reuters)
Reuters
/
May 4, 2009
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ADEN, Yemen - Three people were killed yesterday in clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters in southern Yemen, where separatist sentiment is strong, officials and witnesses said.
The clashes, which have persisted for several days, prompted a rare call by the United States for an end to the violence it said could undermine the impoverished country's unity.
Neighboring Saudi Arabia fears instability in Yemen could allow it to become a launch pad for a revival of a 2003-2006 campaign by Al Qaeda militants to topple the ruling Al Saud family.
Officials said opposition groups killed two civilians and wounded 20 in protests in the Raffan district of Lahej province near Aden in the south. A member of the opposition Socialist Party said locals were defending themselves from government shelling of villages and farmland. One protester died in Dalea when a grenade exploded in what appeared to be an accident.
Yemen is battling regular attacks by Qaeda militants and a Zaydi Shi'ite rebellion in the north and struggling to balance its authority with the fierce independence of some tribes.
"The United States embassy in Sana'a views with concern reports of increasing incidences of political violence in southern regions of Yemen," a US embassy statement said.
"We call on the Yemeni government, the political parties, civil society organizations and all concerned citizens of Yemen to engage in dialogue to identify and address legitimate grievances."
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
