President's thugs target crowds as Yemen erupts

Gunmen on motorcycles sped by and opened fire on hundreds of demonstrators camped out yesterday in a Yemeni port city, killing one and wounding several protesters, an opposition activist said.

Protesters in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida were reportedly demanding the resignation of long-time president Ali Abdullah Saleh when they were attacked by thugs hired by the ruling party.

The two months of anti- government turmoil is threatening to spiral out of control in Yemen as nearly daily protests across the country are being violently suppressed by security forces.

More than 120 people have been killed since demonstrations, inspired by uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, erupted, with Yemenis calling for the end of Mr Saleh's more than three decades in power.

Hodeida saw thousands march through the streets, tearing down posters of the president, before they were dispersed by police. A number of cities also feature protesters camping out in squares, imitating the iconic sit-in at Egypt's Tahrir Square.

The violence has been especially acute in the southern port city of Aden, once the capital of an independent South Yemen and a hotbed of separatist sentiment.

A policeman was killed and four others wounded after clashes with gunmen believed to be associated with the southern dissidents, as hundreds of protesters blocked main roads with rocks and burning tyres.

Yemen is plagued by dwindling water and oil resources and a basic inability to feed its population, as well as a tribal rebellion in the north.

A local affiliate of al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the chaos to set up shop in the country's inaccessible hinterlands and plot attacks on the government and the United States.

International concern of the situation is on the rise and on Tuesday the United Nations Security Council met to discuss Yemen, though it failed to agree on a joint Lebanese- German statement calling on parties to "exercise restraint and to enter into a comprehensive dialogue to realise the legitimate aspirations of the Yemeni people".

The Gulf Co-operation Council, comprising the six other oil-rich nations on the Arabian Peninsula, has attempted to mediate between the Yemeni government and opposition, but its efforts have so far shown little success.

Its proposal calls for Mr Saleh to step down, but offers him immunity from prosecution.