Plainclothes gunmen killed 10 people and wounded dozens more in Yemen’s capital on Wednesday when they opened fire on protesters demanding the immediate ouster of the president, whom Gulf Arab mediators want to ease from power.
The killings capped a day of demonstrations by tens of thousands of Yemenis, many protesting against a plan supported by the government and the main opposition group which would give President Ali Abdullah Saleh a month-long window to resign.
The deal, brokered by Gulf Cooperation Council, would also give him and his family immunity from prosecution.
The protesters in Sana’a were attempting to reach an area beyond the district where they have been camped out since February, and were demanding Saleh leave office immediately, witnesses said.
“We received bodies and have taken them to a private hospital,” said Mohammad al-Qubati, who is a physician at the field hospital where protesters have gathered.
A doctor at the scene later said at least 10 people had died of their wounds.
Earlier, protesters blocked access to a key Red Sea port, and clashed with security forces in south Yemen. One protester and one soldier were killed in those clashes, hospital and local officials said.
“The people want a departure, not an initiative,” the protesters shouted outside the port of Hudaida, where maritime operations functioned as usual.
Separately, security forces shot at least four protesters in the southern Lahij Province, witnesses and medical sources said.
The deal aimed at ending Yemen’s political standoff was expected to be signed on Sunday in Riyadh, three months after Yemenis first took to the streets to demand Saleh’s ouster, inspired by revolts that toppled rulers in Egypt and Tunisia.
The balance of power has tipped against Saleh, who has been a key ally of the West against al-Qaeda, after weeks of violence, military defections and political reversals.
In Hudaida, protest organizer Abdul Hafez Muajeb said the coastguard had welcomed demonstrators and had raised a banner saying they would not use weapons against the people.
“We will close the port because its revenues are used to fund the thugs,” said protester Muaz Abdullah, referring to plainclothes security men who often use daggers and bats to break up protests.
The large turnout at protests shows the ability of the mostly young protesters, including students, tribesmen and activists, to act as potential spoilers of the Gulf deal. They have vowed to stay in the streets until their demands are met.
It is also not clear that opposition parties, comprised of Islamists, Arab nationalists and leftists who have been in and out of government in recent years, could halt the protests even if required to by the transition agreement.
Washington and neighboring oil producer Saudi Arabia want the standoff resolved. They fear a descent into more bloodshed in the Arabian Peninsula state would offer more room for a Yemen-based al-Qaeda wing to operate.
The Gulf deal provides for Saleh to appoint a prime minister from the opposition, who would then form a transition government ahead of a presidential election two months after his resignation, but the one-month window for Saleh to resign has sparked fears it may offer time for potential sabotage.
Mohammed Basindwa, a senior opposition leader regarded as a top candidate to lead a transition government, said he expected a deal to be signed without further negotiations, and said Saleh was not expected to attend the Riyadh meeting.
Saleh, who has ruled for 32 years, would sign the agreement in Sana’a, while the opposition would sign in Riyadh in the presence of a government delegation, Basindwa said.
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