Sana'a, Yemen - At least two protesters were killed and
eight wounded in clashes with security forces in two cities in
southern Yemen, local sources said on Sunday.
The sources said one protester was killed and five others wounded
after police opened fire on protesters on Sunday in the southern city
of Dalea, some 270 kilometres south of the capital Sana'a.
They said clashes broke out between police and armed protesters
after security forces began firing tear gas canisters at dozens of
protesters gathered in the city's main street.
The confrontations were the latest in a series of violent protests
that have rocked cities in three southern provinces in the last few
weeks, leaving dozens of dead and wounded among both the protesters
and security force members.
Dalea is one of the strongholds of southern secessionist groups
that want the south to secede from the north claiming that the
central government exercises discriminatory policies against
southerners.
In a similar protest in the south-eastern city of Shehiron
Saturday evening, one protester was killed and three injured, medical
sources said.
Witnesses said protesters held up flags of the former south Yemen
and posters of its former president Ali Salim al-Beedh.
Confrontations were also reported in the twon of Anad around 50
kilometres north of the southern port city of Aden, but there were no
reports about possible casualties.
North and South Yemen were united in 1990. In 1994, southern
leaders announced the secession of the south and battled northern
forces led by President Saleh for 10 weeks in a civil war that ended
in their defeat.
The violence highlights the increasing discontent by the
southerners and tensions between southern and northern Yemen, 15
years after the civil war.
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