Yemen forces shoot dead two separatist protesters

 (AFP) June 22, 2012

ADEN — Yemeni security forces shot dead two people taking part in a protest in the port city of Aden on Friday for the secession of the formerly independent south, activists and a medic said.

"Security forces fired live rounds on protesters, killing two and wounding five," said Ghassan al-Shuaibi, an activist from the separatist Southern Movement.

An official at Aden's Al-Naqib hospital confirmed the toll.

The demonstrators had been demanding an end to a week-old crackdown on a longstanding protest camp in the city's Mansur neighbourhood, Shuaibi said, adding that nine people had been killed in the security force operation.

A security official told AFP that seven security personnel had been wounded in clashes in the district since June 15.

"Security forces are present in Mansur because of the armed groups there," the official said.

Aden is a stronghold of activists demanding autonomy or renewed independence for the south, which was a separate country until 1990.