Two southern activists killed in Yemen

February 5, 2012 share

Two southern activists were killed and seven wounded in clashes with police in the Yemeni province of Hadramut on Sunday, activists said.

They said the clashes took place in the city of Mukalla as security forces intervened to evacuate a police station overrun by activists opposed to Yemen's presidential election of February 21.

Security forces recaptured the police station after activists had released detained colleagues, a police source said.

The operation resulted in clashes that left one activist dead and eight wounded, the source said. Activists said one of the wounded later died in hospital.

Late on Friday, armed clashes between supporters and opponents of the presidential election left dozens of people wounded in the main southern city of Aden.

The violence erupted when supporters of the Southern Movement, a separatist group, attacked a march organized by rivals from a year-old protest movement against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, an activist said.

Some factions of the Movement have been campaigning for a boycott of the election, which they say fails to meet their aspirations for autonomy or southern independence.

Saleh's deputy, Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi, himself a southerner, is the sole candidate in the election to succeed the veteran strongman who is standing down after more than three decades in power.

Nationwide protests erupted against Saleh's regime in January last year, triggering months of bloodshed.