Aden: Security forces opened fire on protesters in Aden, witnesses said, with a medical source saying on Saturday four more people had died as thousands took to the streets.

Security forces loyal to veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh fired live ammunition at protesters calling for his ouster, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.

Witnesses said security forces shot at a sit-in of protesters in front of a hotel on the main street in the city's Maalla district.

A hospital source said a total of three people had been killed in Friday's unrest and 40 had been wounded.

A previous toll early in the evening had one dead and 30 wounded.

The latest deaths raised to 15 the number of victims of almost daily clashes between police and protesters in Aden since February 16, according to an AFP tally based on reports by medics and witnesses.