Two civilians killed in southern Yemen clashes
Iran Press TV
Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:0PM GMT
At least two civilians have been killed in fresh clashes between Yemeni police and separatists in the troubled southern city of Aden.
On Wednesday, security forces reportedly opened fire on Southern Movement activists in Aden’s Mansura district, which is a stronghold of Yemen’s pro-independence movement.
A security official said police and separatists exchanged fire in the Mansura district, where protesting pro-secession activists had blocked roads with rocks and burning tires.
Medical sources said six people were also injured in the clashes.
Yemeni police killed four people on February 21 during protests marking the first anniversary since President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi came to power following nearly a year of protests that toppled former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh.
North and south Yemen unified in 1990 after the southern government collapsed. Northern troops took control of the south after winning a civil war in 1994.
The Southern Movement gained strength during mass demonstrations which forced Saleh to step down in February 2012.
The secessionist movement calls for autonomy or the complete independence of the south. Southerner residents complain that they have been economically and politically marginalized by the central government.
The government called on separatists to participate in national reconciliation talks scheduled to be held in five days.
MKA/JR
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