At least 17 people were killed on Saturday when violence erupted in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, as anti-government protesters marched through the city demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, dpa reported.
Medical sources told dpa that 12 people were killed when government forces opened fire and used tear gas against protesters in the city's central Al Zubeiri Street, injuring dozens.
Snipers targeting the rally were stationed on top of buildings, activists said.
"The deaths may rise in the coming hours as there are at least 11 critical cases among the injured demonstrators, who have sustained direct and serious wounds in the head," said Mohamed al-Qabati, the director of a field hospital in Change Square in Sana'a, a rallying point for anti-Saleh protesters.
Meanwhile, Abdel Rahman Barman, a rights lawyer, said foreign monitors had been invited to join Saturday's mass protest.
"One European monitor noted that firing on demonstrators started by six gunmen positioned on the rooftop of the Foreign Ministry Building (in Sana'a)," Barman told reporters on Saturday.
Despite the crackdown, anti-government protesters were defiant and vowed to stage another mass demonstration on Sunday.
"We are here today to demonstrate our undefeated will to change this regime that ruled us, through the army, for 33 years," said protester Ahmed al-Hashidi.
Videos uploaded online showed men carrying injured people with blood on their faces and chests, as gunshots were heard in the background.
The opposition television broadcaster Suhail reported that government forces were preventing ambulances from reaching the injured.
However, an Interior Ministry source denied the casualties, describing the figures as "false reports for the purpose of deception and forgery."
Meanwhile, five opposition tribesmen were killed in clashes with Saleh's forces in the northern parts of Yemen.
Blasts and gunfire were heard throughout the morning, as Republican Guards fought armed opposition tribesmen in the district of Hasaba.
On Saturday, Saleh told a meeting of his ruling party that moves to implement a power transfer initiative proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, had "made positive advances."
Saleh spoke of "fast-paced developments," wrote the Yemeni state news agency, referring to what the pro-government agency termed "the rise of subversive acts," "unlicensed demonstrations" and "hostile acts against citizens and public and private properties."
Saleh's government also accused the opposition Islah party and supporters of the leader of the Hashid tribe, Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, of shelling residential areas, killing an unspecified number of people.
Al-Ahmar and his followers live in Hasaba area, which has seen fierce clashes since May when al-Ahmar declared his support for the pro-reform protesters.
Millions of Yemenis have been protesting since February demanding Saleh's ouster.
At least 1,480 people had been killed in clashes between Saleh's loyalists and his opponents by the end of September, according to government figures.
...