Affrontements à Sanaa : deux morts – 22 février 2011

Clashes Over Yemen’s Government Leave 2 Protesters Dead

nytimes.com

By LAURA KASINOF

February 22, 2011

SANA, Yemen — Two young men were shot dead by government supporters on Tuesday night during a protest in front of Sana University, medical workers said. They are the first deaths in clashes between pro- and antigovernment demonstrators in the nearly two weeks since students began calling for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Eight other people were wounded, the medical workers said, when government supporters in plain clothes opened fire on the protesters, who have been staging a sit-in in front of Sana University since Sunday morning.

A makeshift medical clinic treated the wounded while they waited for ambulances to arrive. Protesters surrounding the clinic chanted, “There is no God but God.”

About 2,000 protesters remained on Tuesday night after the shooting. They have vowed to stay until Mr. Saleh steps down.

According to witnesses, the clashes between the pro- and antigovernment demonstrators started when the two sides began hurling rocks back and forth over the heads of about 10 members of the security forces.

The security forces began to shoot live ammunition in the air in an attempt to stop the rock-throwing, but then the pro-government demonstrators started to run toward the students, shooting automatic weapons and pistols. When the gunmen started shooting, the police ran away, according to multiple witnesses.

According to one government official, who was not authorized to speak to the news media, the antigovernment protesters also fired live ammunition at the pro-government demonstrators, killing one and wounding more than a dozen. Read more…