Two protesters were killed and several injured Saturday in the port city of Aden as security forces stormed an anti-government sit-in, ahead of the signing of a power transition deal that aims at ending the two-month unrest in the country, dpa reported.
Security forces used force to break up the protest in al-Mansourah district and randomly opened fire, which reached the nearby houses, eyewitnesses said.
One of the neighbouring houses was completely set ablaze, an eyewitness said, adding "the camp is now filled with tanks and military vehicles."
A police officer was killed and two injured in the same district Saturday.
Violence came after the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdullatif al-Zayani arrived in Sana'a to invite representatives of the government and opposition for the signing ceremony provisionally scheduled for Monday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Under the deal, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, his aides and family would be guaranteed immunity from prosecution. Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, would also remain on as head of the ruling party.
A transfer of power to his vice president would take place within 30 days of the signing, followed by presidential elections within two months and the formation of a unity government.
Sources suggested that President Saleh will sign the agreement in Sana'a, before the foreign ministers of the six Gulf nations of the council meet on Sunday to finalise their initiative.
Saleh will not go to Riyadh for the signing, according to the spokesperson of the ruling party General People's Congress (GPC) Tariq al-Shami.
Al-Shami has said that a delegation representing the party would head to Saudi Arabia to sign the deal, local media reported Saturday.
Abdul-Karim al-Eryani, the political advisorto the president, is expected to sign the agreement on behalf of Saleh.
However, protesters, who have for months been calling on the president step down, have rejected the deal.
Activists said they would not stop demonstrating until Saleh is tried for the deaths of over 100 people since the protests began in February.
New York-based Human Rights Watch has warned that Saleh "cannot use his promised immunity from prosecution as a carte blanche to tolerate attacks on peaceful protesters."
The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.