Yemen Shiites demonstrate over protest killings

Sana’a: Thousands of Zaidis demonstrated Monday in the Yemeni capital to protest the killing of 10 fellow Shiites and wounding of dozens of others in clashes with police during a protest the day before.

The demonstration took place outside the headquarters of Yemen’s national security service, the same area in Sana’a where the violence occurred on Sunday, an AFP correspondent reported.

They chanted slogans denouncing the security body, while a statement issued by the organisers urged the government to address the killing of the 10 Zaidi rebels and the wounding of 38 others.

“O people! Keep up the fight. The national security is vicious,” they shouted.

Sunday’s gunfight erupted when the rebels, among a crowd demanding the release of members of their community, attacked the security headquarters with automatic weapons and grenades, an official said.

He said they were well prepared for the attack and used neighbouring buildings to launch their raid, adding that those killed and wounded were among the attackers.

The official said earlier that some of those detained were “suspected of [sharing] intelligence with Iran”.

The rebels, also known as Al Houthis after their leader Abdul Malek Al Houthi, had rebelled in 2004 against the government of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, accusing it of marginalising them politically and economically.

Fighting between them and Yemeni forces killed thousands of people before a ceasefire was reached in February 2010.

The Zaidis are participating in an ongoing national dialogue launched in March to discuss the impoverished country’s main problems, including the issue of the Al Houthi rebellion.

The Zaidis belong to an offshoot of Shiite sect and are a minority in Sunni Yemen.