SANA'A // Two protesters were killed and at least 10 others injured yesterday in the city of Taiz when police and government supporters used live fire and tear gas to disperse tens of thousands of protesters, mostly women, who were demanding the departure of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
According to medics and protest organisers, some of the injuries were serious and as many as 700 others suffered from respiratory problems because of the tear gas.
The women were marching down a main street in the southern town of Taiz shouting "peaceful! peaceful!" when they were attacked, activist Ghazi al-Samei said.
Three of the young men suffered serious gunshot wounds when police opened fire, protester Bushra al-Maqtari said by telephone.
Army tanks and armoured cars stopped other demonstrators from entering Taiz, the site of some of the largest and angriest protests against Mr Saleh's rule in recent weeks.
Protesters have been camping out in main squares throughout Yemen for weeks, demanding Mr Saleh leave power after 30 years. The president has offered to resign by the year's end and says leaving without a negotiated transition would lead to chaos.
On Saturday, opposition groups demanded he hand power to his vice president and set up committees to thrash out constitutional reform and elections.
The president's spokesman, Ahmed al-Sufi, said yesterday that Mr Saleh is only "ready to discuss the peaceful handover of power according to the constitution."
Mr Saleh's top security official in Taiz, Abdullah Qiran, is accused by demonstrators of orchestrating some of the most brutal actions against demonstrators, particularly in the southern port town of Aden, where he was previously stationed.
There, some 48 demonstrators were killed over a period of weeks by security forces and Mr Saleh's supporters armed with sticks, knives and guns.
At least 97 demonstrators have been killed in Yemen since protests began on February 11, according to the Yemeni rights group Shakayek.
* With additional reporting by the Associated Press
