Two killed, hundreds injured in Yemeni clashes

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two people were killed and hundreds injured in clashes in the Yemeni capital on March 12, in some of the most violent confrontations between soldiers and antigovernment protesters since the recent round of unrest began in January.

Eyewitnesses said the army fired live ammunition, tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of around 3,000 antigovernment demonstrators, who hurled rocks at the soldiers. At the front line, protesters smashed the road with pickaxes and ripped out chunks of concrete to throw at the army.

Behind the army line, a smaller group of government supporters tossed rocks over the armor-clad soldiers and into the crowd.

Hundreds of men were carried on stretchers towards a mosque that has been transformed into a medical center. Some of the wounded were treated at the side of the road, many with head injuries from falling rocks and rubber bullets. Medics on the scene said that two people had died. Fighting began in the early morning when the army used a water canon to try and push protesters back, according to witnesses. A six-hour battle ensued as the hordes pushed forward and back over a key intersection. By late morning, security forces retreated as the protesters held their ground.

More than 100,000 people mounted the largest demonstration in the capital to date Friday and the demonstration spread into two major roads. Throughout March 11 night the army tried to calmly push the protesters back towards San'a University to prevent the demonstration flooding into new neighborhoods.

Doctors say one of the dead was Ahmed al-Manaiee, a famous orator from the eastern province of Marib. Rumors circulated that the man's tribe were en route the capital, carrying arms and preparing for a battle. These reports could not be corroborated, The WSJ reports.