Yemeni Security Forces Fire Rockets at Office Building

And open fire on protesters, killing 3 in Taiz
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 9, 2011 8:55 AM CDT
Yemeni Security Forces Fire Rockets at Office Building
Medics and civilians carry wounded anti-government protestors to a field hospital during clashes with Yemeni security forces in Taiz, Yemen, Monday, May 9, 2011.   (AP Photo/Anees Mahyoub)

Yemeni security forces opened fire on protesters today in the flashpoint city of Taiz, chasing them into nearby buildings—one of which they then fired rocket-propelled grenades at, witnesses tell the AP. The explosion set the office building on fire, but there were no reports of casualties there. But medics say that three people were killed in the original hail of bullets, and dozens more injured, including six in critical condition.

Protesters started a new sit-in on one of the city's central streets yesterday, as part of their campaign to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Security forces descended on them around dawn, using water cannons, tear gas, and live ammo. Today also saw protesters rally in the capital of Sanaa. Some protesters arrived with their phone numbers written in red on their chests, to make it easier to identify their bodies and call their families if they were killed. (More Yemen stories.)

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