Protester killed, dozens shot in Yemen demonstration

An anti-regime protester died of gunshot wounds as Yemeni security forces shot dozens of demonstrators in overnight clashes in the cities of Taez and Sanaa, medical officers said today.

"One protester died of his wounds late on Saturday," said a medic treating casualties at a makeshift field hospital in the flashpoint city of Taez, south of the capital.

A total of 43 protesters were wounded by live gunfire in clashes between security forces and demonstrators calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster that raged deep into the night, medics said.

The latest protests were fuelled by anger after security forces shot dead four demonstrators in Taez on Friday.

In Sanaa, security forces shot and wounded 30 people, while 80 others suffered injuries from beatings with batons, according to medics and demonstrators in the capital.

Another 1,200 people needed treatment for tear-gas inhalation, said members of a medical committee formed by protesters who have staged a sit-in at a square near Sanaa University since February.

The Sanaa clashes erupted on Saturday as thousands of protesters marched on a police control point from their base at the square, witnesses said.