Yemen State of Emergency: 30 Protesters Killed

by NowPublic Staff | March 18, 2011 at 09:13 am

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Soldiers Kill 30 as Yemen Protests Continue

At least 30 people were killed when Yemeni government loyalists opened fire on demonstrators at University Square in Sanaa. Dozens more were wounded, according to medical workers on the scene. The soldiers had fired from behind lines of burning tires, so that they wouldn't be caught on film.

Yemen opposition groups described the scene as a massacre.

Yemen president Ali Abdulla Saleh declared a state of emergency, as protests to end his 32-year rule continue. Saleh said that the fighting was between protesters and civilians, but witnesses at University Square say otherwise.

'Friday of Fury' in Yemen (Video)

Anti-govenrment protests have been going on in Yemen since mid-February, and around 70 people have been killed so far. Protesters say that the pro-government thugs were acting with the tacit support of the military, if they weren't military themselves.

100,000 people had gathered in University Square.

“As soon as we got up from prayer they started firing from the tops of multiple buildings in the area,” said Essam al-Maqtary, a Sanaa resident who was shot in the leg.