Hezbollah denounces violence against protesters in Yemen

Mar 19, 2011

Beirut - The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah denounced Saturday what it described as 'the ugly massacre' Friday against protesters in Yemen.

'Hezbollah announces its strong condemnation of the barbaric aggression against the citizens who were calling for their legitimate rights,' a statement by the group read.

'This is a massacre to be added to the long list of other massacres committed by the Yemeni regime against their free people,' it added.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared a state of emergency to last 30 days after around 50 protesters were killed on Friday. According to witnesses, the protesters were fired upon by police.

In a related development, some 100 Lebanese gathered Saturday near the Yemeni embassy in Beirut to protest the violence against the protesters in Sana'a.

'We denounce the killing of innocent people just because they were calling for their freedom,' read one banner.

The Yemeni demonstrations, demanding the ouster of Saleh, started on February 11, following popular uprisings against long-time rulers in Tunisia and Egypt.

Source: M&C