Five killed in south Yemen on civil war anniversary

Four civilians and one soldier were shot dead and ten others wounded by security forces in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on Friday, southern separatists and an official said, as crowds gathered calling for the separation of the south.

A local security official said three soldiers including a lieutenant were among those hurt at a festival to mark the anniversary of a violent struggle for an independent south which led to civil war and began in Aden on January 13, 1986.

The crowd at the festival was shouting "Revolution! Revolution! Oh South!," witnesses said.

On Sunday, Yemen's cabinet proposed an immunity law to speed President Ali Abdullah Saleh's exit under a Gulf-brokered plan to end months of protests that have paralysed the impoverished Arab state.

Presidential elections are set for February 21.

However, any successor to Saleh faces many challenges: a rebellion in the north, the southern separatist movement and al-Qaeda's most active wing, based in Yemen.

On Thursday, at least four fighters from a Sunni Salafi Islamist group were killed in fighting with Shi'ite rebel fighters in northern Yemen.

Analysts say Saleh was expected to leave Yemen for medical treatment after parliament approves the immunity bill.