Yemen: Four killed in clashes

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Yemen: Four killed in clashes

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Fighting between pro and anti-government forces spreads through Yemens capital, leaving 4 dead.

22 September,2011 08:21 pm

Fighting between pro and anti-government forces spread through Yemen’s capital on Thursday and a sniper shot dead a protester, dimming chances of a diplomatic solution to prevent the country sliding into civil war.Clashes between government forces and soldiers backing a protest movement seeking to unseat autocratic President Ali Abdullah Saleh reached the doorsteps of the US and British embassies in Sanaa, witnesses said.At least four soldiers, two on each side, were reported killed in the intensifying battles.A protester was killed and at least eight wounded by snipers just off Change Square. Angry protesters set fire to a house where they said snipers were hiding, while medics set up a blood donation campaign for the wounded.A doctor treating the wounded at a field hospital in Sanaa said casualties were being admitted all the time. “Three martyrs and dozens wounded, and I dont have exact statistics, but as you can see, almost every five minutes or ten minutes, we receive two, three wounded, and so on,” said Dr Tariq Noman.Hopes are fading that a lasting ceasefire between government troops and soldiers loyal to a top general who defected from Saleh in March can be brokered to enable a mediated accord for him to cede power to launch a reform process.