Yemeni security forces shot dead two protesters in Hudayah, AFP reports as unrest continued to spread across the country.
The shootings follow yesterday’s violence when police fired at anti-government protesters as they marched on the government buildings in Taiz, killing at least 15 people and injuring many more.
For weeks now demonstrators have been staging marches and sit-ins in Taez, Hudayah and the Yemeni capital Sana as they demand the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Many feel Saleh, who has been in power for more than thirty years, has failed to make good on his promises for political and economic reforms.
The United States have urged Saleh, a longtime ally, to step aside for his vice president warning that Al-Qaeda could capitalise on any power vacuum in the country.
However Saleh has made it clear he has no immediate plans to step down.
Yemen’s opposition political parties condemned the violence and called on foreign powers to “quickly intervene to stop President Saleh and his entourage from shedding more Yemeni blood.”
Nearby Gulf states are reportedly planning to broker a deal between Saleh and the opposition.
