21 April 2011
SANAA – A gunman on a motorcycle opened fire on a Yemeni anti-government protest camp yesterday killing one, witnesses said, as tension mounted over demands for a transfer of power in the Arabian Peninsula state.
Witnesses said the gunman roared to the edge of a square in the Red Sea town of Hudaida and shot at protesters who were taking part in Muslim dawn prayers.
The man who died had been guarding the protesters.
“The youth were doing the dawn prayer and the guards were inspecting the outskirts of the square when a motorcycle passed by and opened fire on them,” said Abdel-Hafez Mohammed, one of the guards.
More than 123 protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces since activists took to the streets in January calling for an end to President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s 32-year rule.
Western and Gulf Arab allies have tried without success to negotiate an orderly transition of power from the president and opposition patience has been wearing thin.
Saleh says he wants a handover, but only to ‘safe hands’.
Yemen has seen heightened violence over the past week. Activists have begun gradually testing the limits of security forces, marching outside their traditional protest zones and setting tyres alight in the streets. – Nampa-Reuters
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Motorcycle Gunman Kills 1 At Yemen Protest