Yemen uses machine gun fire to quell protesters

Yemeni security forces opened fire on protesters trying to rip down photos of the president yesterday, injuring at least six, as the biggest demonstrations in a month of unrest rocked the country in a massive call for regime change.

Protesters ripped down, burned and stamped on portraits of president Ali Abdullah Saleh in the town of Sheik Uthman, next to the Aden, witnesses said.

Security forces hurled tear gas into crowds near a football stadium, and then opened fire, using machine guns mounted on vehicles, said witness Sind Abdullah, 25. It appeared the forces were mostly firing over the heads of demonstrators, who pushed and shoved in a panic to get away.

Witnesses said they saw several people lying on the ground when the tear gas cleared. One protester was seriously hurt.

Thousands of women took part in protests in Yemen's conservative capital, Sanaa - a startling move in a society where women are expected to stay out of sight. Women have only begun turning out any real numbers for the past week.

In a sign that the Yemeni government was trying to quell the protests, the internet was slowed to a crawl and phone connections were sporadic. But no other violence was reported as hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in towns in the four biggest provinces.