YEMEN PROTESTS TURN VIOLENT

By Sudarsan Raghavan and Hakim Almasmari
The Washington Post

SANAA, YEMEN -- Anti-government protests unfolded for a fifth straight day here Tuesday [Feb. 15], marked by brief but violent clashes, as thousands of people clamored for democratic reforms in Bahrain, the first time the seismic effects of the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia had rippled in the Persian Gulf.

In the Yemeni capital, several hundred pro-democracy and pro-government demonstrators clashed near the old campus of Sanaa University, with the fights spilling into side streets, witnesses said. The tensions erupted when government supporters attacked their rival protesters with knives, rocks, and sticks, forcing them to disperse.

Witnesses said that Yemeni security forces beat some anti-government protesters and that police did not attempt to stop the violence. Several protesters, including a lawmaker, were wounded, according to witnesses.


--The St. Augustine Record, February 16, 2011, p. 11A; www.staugustine.com