Three people were killed and dozens injured on Thursday when security forces cracked down on anti-government demonstrators in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, dpa reported according to local media.
The deaths occurred when security forces opened fire on supporters of the separatist Southern Movement in the city's Crater and Khormaksar areas, reported the Yemeni news website Aden al-Ghad.
The report could not be independently confirmed.
The Southern Movement calls for independence or autonomy for the former Marxist republic of South Yemen, which merged with more populous North Yemen in 1990.
Aden was the capital of the South and is a stronghold of secessionists.
A pro-unity mass rally was to be held later Thursday in Aden to mark the first anniversary of Yemen's one-candidate presidential election, which saw Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi taking office as Yemen's president after a year of street protests against the rule of his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh.