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Clashes broke out in Yemen's Red Sea port of Hudaida on Monday, wounding at least 88 people as plainclothes police fired shots and tear gas at protesters, who responded by hurling stones, witnesses and doctors said. Residents told Reuters that the officers, armed with bats, pistols and stones, attacked thousands of protesters who had marched into the streets outside the square, where they have been camped for weeks in demonstrations calling for the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule. "We're appealing for help in medical supplies, as we're really suffering from a severe shortage ... the medical situation is really bad," said protester Abdul Jabar Zayed. "We have some friends missing, and we think they were arrested; we are still making calculations but have no specific number yet." A first round of clashes hurt 15 people, two were shot and the others were beaten or hit with stones, doctors said, and protesters began to withdraw back to their camp. However, clashes erupted again as riot police fired shots and tear gas at a group of protesters, witnesses said. Protesters responded by marching out of their camp again, this time headed for Hudaida's main thoroughfare, residents told Reuters. Five people were shot and 68 were beaten or were suffering from tear gas inhalation, they said, and clashes were ongoing. Zayed said that protesters had built a roadblock to try to prevent police from getting closer to the demonstrations. Tensions have run high in the Arabian Peninsula state, where half of the 23 million people own a gun, as transition talks between the opposition and the government stall. No breakthrough was reached at a meeting between opposition leaders and foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night. The Gulf Arab states have offered to mediate between the opposition and the government. However, the opposition rejected such talks without guarantees of a quick handover of power and the removal of Saleh. A GCC statement issued Sunday night said the opposition agreed to continue talks with the foreign ministers. It said the ministers would meet separately with Saleh's representatives. However, a Yemeni government official said there was no word yet from the GCC on separate talks with Saleh's aides. Over the past week, US and European diplomats have been working to bring the opposition and Saleh's camp together, a Western diplomat told AFP. "The Common Forum has obtained American and European assurances on the success of the GCC initiative, especially for a rapid departure of President Saleh," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Agencies |
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