Skip to main content

More protests in Yemen; envoy recalled

From Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN
Yemenis demonstrators keep the heat on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.
Yemenis demonstrators keep the heat on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Unrest late Saturday in capital, other city
  • Security forces, protesters clash in Sanaa
  • Yemen recalls Qatari ambassador
  • Qatari PM mentions deal with Saleh's departure

(CNN) -- Yemeni security forces fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters in the capital late Saturday, eyewitnesses and medical teams said.

At least 14 demonstrators in Sanaa were injured by bullets, said Dr. Waseen Qurashi at a field hospital. Several hundred others suffered the effects of tear gas, he told CNN Saturday night.

Forces made dozens of arrests, eyewitnesses said.

"[President Ali Abdullah] Saleh's criminals arrested many of our youth and put them in big trucks and in large numbers," said Murad Sofan, a youth activist on the scene.

According to witnesses, gunmen in plainclothes also fired on anti-government protesters.

As the injured were being treated, protesters continued chanting, witnesses told CNN. "Your oppression will only make us stronger," many called.

As ongoing protests continue in the country, Yemen has recalled its ambassador from Qatar, a move that comes amid outrage that its prime minister talked of a deal to get Saleh to step down.

"The ambassador was called back for consultation because of the tense relations between Yemen and Qatar," according to a Foreign Ministry official, who didn't want to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

"The main reason for calling back our ambassador was the comments given by the Qatari prime minister. We will need him here for more clarification," the ministry official said. The Yemeni ambassador to Qatar is Abdul Malik Saeed Abdu.

The move comes as a six-nation alliance of Gulf Arab nations worked to bring stability to Yemen, where angry street demonstrations have raged, including one on Saturday where protesters clashed with security forces.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamed bin Jassem on Friday said Gulf Cooperation Council countries "hope to conclude an agreement with the Yemeni president to step down," according to the official Qatar news agency. The GCC consists of United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.

Saleh says he welcomes GCC efforts to help resolve the political crisis in Yemen. He has said he intends to step down but only under a peaceful and constitutional transition process.

But the Yemeni government thinks the call for a deal that would lead to Saleh's departure now is going too far.

Officials are angry that the Qatari prime minister publicly broached the stepping down of the president, who has warned against the potential dangers of foreign intervention in what he says are internal matters.

"We get our power and trust from the great Yemeni people and the constitution," Saleh said on state television Friday. "We will reject any new initiative from any country dealing with Yemen's current crisis."

The United States, which has been allied with the Saleh government in its fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, said it welcomed the Gulf council initiative.

"We strongly encourage all sides to engage in this urgently needed dialogue to reach a solution supported by the Yemeni people," said Mark Toner, spokesman for the State Department.

"President Saleh has publicly expressed his willingness to engage in a peaceful transition of power; the timing and form of this transition should be identified through negotiation and begin soon."

Violence and protest has raged in Yemen, where many Yemenis dislike the longtime president and want him to depart.

Angry outpourings took place on Saturday in Sanaa and the city of Taiz.

Earlier Saturday, eyewitnesses and medical officials said central security forces attacked thousands of anti-regime marchers and tried to disperse them with batons and tear gas.

"This is the strategy of the government when people try to express their feelings in a democratic manner," according to anti-government protester and eyewitness, Saleh Al-Maysari.

In Taiz, Yemeni forces shot at anti-government protesters, according to field medical teams and eyewitnesses. Medical staff said at least 19 protesters had bullet wounds, with four in critical condition.

Journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.