From Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN
Anti-government protesters rally in Yemen’s capital on February 25.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Hospital officials say 26 people are injured after the Friday night clashes in Aden
- Witnesses say the victims are anti-government demonstrators
- Yemeni authorities Friday denied reports that a protester was killed
- Friday’s demonstrations in Sanaa included supporters and opponents of Yemen’s president
Sanaa, Yemen (CNN) — Four people died from gunshot wounds after clashes erupted between anti-government protesters and security forces in southern Yemen, medical officials said Saturday.
Medics and doctors at Naqeeb Hospital in the southern port city of Aden said that the Friday night clashes also left at least 26 people injured — some in critical condition.
Witnesses said the victims were anti-government demonstrators hit by gunfire when security forces shot into crowds of protesters in the city’s Mualla district after 10 p.m. Friday. Yemeni government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
On Friday, authorities insisted no one had been killed in clashes in another part of Aden, but witnesses said one protester died of gunshot wounds and 11 demonstrators were wounded.
Anti-government protesters across Yemen Friday demanded President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s resignation. Thousands of anti-government demonstrators — mostly students — lined the streets outside Sanaa University in the nation’s capital.
They were countered by a pro-government demonstration on Tahrir Square, where thousands waved flags and held up pictures of Saleh.
Saleh has ruled Yemen since 1978. The country has been wracked by a Shiite Muslim uprising, a U.S.-aided crackdown on al Qaeda operatives and a looming shortage of water. High unemployment has fueled much of the anger among a growing young population steeped in poverty.
Demonstrators in recent anti-government protests have also cited government corruption and a lack of political freedom.
Saleh has promised not to run for president in the next round of elections, and he has said he supports the creation of a national unity government to oversee upcoming parliamentary elections.
But he has refused to step aside immediately. On Monday, he compared the anti-government protests to an illness sweeping through the region.
“This is a virus and is not part of our heritage or the culture of the Yemeni people,” he told reporters. “It’s a virus that came from Tunisia to Egypt. And to some regions, the scent of the fever is like influenza. As soon as you sit with someone who is infected, you’ll be infected.”
Part of complete coverage on
CNN gives the key data on each nation experiencing unrest with updates on what’s happening where
CNN examines how common internet, mobile phones and social media sites are in the Mideast and African nations
CNN’s Ben Wedeman reports from Benghazi, Libya, where it is open house at the ransacked and torched Gadhafi home
CNN’s Jonathan Mann describes the Libyan leader as the strangest head of state he’s ever met
Are you in the Middle East or North Africa? Send iReport your images. Don’t do anything that could put you at risk
Women in post-Mubarak Egypt feel they no longer have to suffer in silence the sexual harassment that has been part of their lives for so long
A few hundred yards from the Pearl Roundabout, you can be blissfully unaware of the turmoil that has suddenly engulfed this island kingdom
Fears of growing sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiites Muslims are rising amid unrest in the Arab world
Â
View original post here:
4 killed as protesters, security forces clash in Yemen