YEMEN:AFTER A night of bloodshed that left one man dead and more than 50 injured in Yemen's capital, thousands of protesters continued their sit-in outside Sana'a University yesterday, defiantly maintaining their call for the end of President Ali Abdullah Saleh's rule.
Up to 10 people were shot and many left suffering from the effects of tear-gas after security forces opened fire on anti-government protesters late on Tuesday, following an altercation with tribesmen.
Men from the Khalwan tribe, attempting to carry tents into the protest, were confronted by soldiers and riot police at the security cordon around the university.
Security forces released bursts of gunfire into the air, followed by tear gas, before shooting into the crowd with a mix of live rounds and rubber bullets.
“They were trying to kill us. I was running away but they kept shooting,” said one injured activist who was unable to give his name as he struggled for breath from the effects of the tear gas.
A mosque next to the university was converted into a makeshift hospital as a stream of casualties were carried through the doors to be treated by a team of volunteer doctors. Many lay semi-conscious on the floor as medics scrambled to handle the overwhelming number of injured.
More than 30 injured men were placed on the ground outside the temporary triage room, waiting for treatment.
In addition to those shot, four people were admitted to intensive care with swelling of the brain from the effects of the tear gas, according to Dr Abdualmalek Alyosofi, who tended to the wounded. He raised questions about the type and concentration of gas used.
“Mohamed Ali Mutlak, from Hamdan, died this morning from a gunshot wound,” said Dr Alyosofi. “He was shot in the back of the head.”
Several thousand people have for several weeks been permanently camped out in tents on the streets outside Sana’a University, dubbed by protesters as Change Square. There have been similar scenes in other major cities across the country, amid growing calls for Mr Saleh to step down after 32 years as president.
Analysts have predicted that the killing of street protesters in the capital by security forces could be the trigger for a descent into further chaos – or worse, civil war.
Tuesday’s incident was the first time uniformed troops had shot and killed activists in Sana’a, and the 24-year-old victim is the first tribesman to die.
Clashes took place last month between demonstrators and plain-clothes pro-Saleh loyalists.
In the southern port city of Aden, where protesters are regarded by the government as separatists, up to 30 people have died at the hands of security forces in the last three weeks.
The government said suspects there had resisted arrest after “police discovered individuals with a stash of fully automatic rifles hidden inside thick blankets and camping equipment”, according to an official statement. Khalwan tribal sheikhs deny the claim.