3 killed in Yemen clashes ahead of UN meeting (VIDEO)
An injured man is brought in for medical help following clashes with the authorities during a protest calling for the ouster of embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh in the capital Sanaa, on April 19, 2011. Medics said two protesters was shot dead and hundreds more were wounded, mostly by tear gas, when security forces dispersed an anti-Saleh march.
SANAA, Yemen — Two anti-government protesters were killed when clashes broke out between security forces and pro-democracy protesters in the Yemeni capital on Tuesday, as the U.N. Security Council met to discuss the crisis in Yemen for the first time.
Security forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh also opened fire on anti-government protesters in the southern city of Taiz, according to reports, killing one person.
In Sanaa, as demonstrators began marching out of the protest camp in Change Square and up one of Yemen’s major artery roads, pro-government plainclothes thugs and security forces opened fire.
Water cannon trucks fired at protesters, and in response Molotov cocktails were flung toward security forces. One water cannon truck caught fire. As the fighting picked up, pro-government plainclothes thugs fired on demonstrators from rooftops.
"Come back inside, they’ll kill you," screamed one small girl at her brother from the top window of her home as he lobbed large stones toward AK-47 wielding security forces.
Security forces also fired mounted .50 caliber machine guns at protesters.
Many of the wounded were carried over a mile to the protest camp field hospital as filled-up ambulances carried wounded to nearby hospitals.
"We have two killed at the field hospital here but the death toll will increase, others that were critically wounded were taken to many area hospitals," said Dr. Abdul Wahib Al-Ansi, a volunteer physician that has taken up residence at the Sanaa University protest camp.
Pro-democracy protesters have been demanding for two months the resignation of Saleh, who has ruled the country since 1978. Saleh, who initially offered not to seek re-election when his term ended in 2013, has since said he would step down after holding elections.
The U.N. talks on the turmoil in Yemen should be a strong signal to the country's president that bloodshed must avoided, Germany's U.N. envoy said, Al Jazeera reports.
"The fact that the council meets today on Yemen sends an important signal by the international community: the negotiations should not stall and further bloodshed has to be avoided," Germany's U.N. ambassador Peter Wittig said ahead of the talks.
The UN children's fund (Unicef) said Tuesday that at least 26 children had been killed in violent protests over the last two months, the BBC reported.