SANA, Yemen — Yemeni riot police in the capital opened fire on thousands marching in the 10th day of unrest rocking the country, killing one and injuring five others yesterday. The country’s leader blamed the unrest on “a foreign plot.’’
Protesters seeking to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key US ally in fighting Al Qaeda, began marching from the University of Sana to the Ministry of Justice, chanting: “The people want the fall of the regime.’’
They were met by police along with government supporters with clubs and knives, who engaged in a stone-throwing battle with protesters. At one point, police fired in the air to disperse the march.
A medical official said one man was shot in the neck and killed. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
It was the 10th straight day of protests in Yemen inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. Demonstrators want the immediate ouster of Saleh, who has ruled for 32 years.
In a meeting with civic leaders, Saleh said Yemenis have the right to express themselves peacefully and that the perpetrators of the unrest were trying to seize power by fomenting instability. He has tried to blunt discontent by promising not to seek reelection in 2013.
Meanwhile, residents of Aden, where riots have resulted in at least four deaths, said troops in armored vehicles had deployed in the main streets and at key buildings such as the governor’s office. Many police had withdrawn from the streets, apparently to avoid confrontation with protesters.
Vice President Abd Rabou Mansour met officials in Aden and decided to seal off the city until 6 a.m. today to prevent people outside Aden from joining protests, said a security official.
Algeria Algerian police thwarted a rally by thousands of prodemocracy supporters yesterday, breaking up the crowd into isolated groups to keep them from marching.
Police brandishing clubs, but no firearms, weaved their way through the crowd in central Algiers, tackling some protesters and keeping traffic flowing through the march route.
A demonstrating lawmaker was hospitalized after suffering a head wound when he fell after police kicked and hit him, colleagues said.
The gathering, organized by the Coordination for Democratic Change in Algeria, comes a week after a similar protest.
Authorities have promised to lift a 19-year-old state of emergency that outlaws public gatherings in the capital, Algiers, by the end of February.
Police at yesterday’s demonstrations appeared to outnumber protesters in each of the groups scattered in side streets around May 1 square, a major roundabout. They stood in solid lines to block protesters from main avenues. Trucks with water cannons were parked nearby.
