'Bloody crimes will end Saleh regime'

Sat Mar 19, 2011

A Yemeni opposition leader has condemned the government's brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, saying the violence will bring an end to the regime.

In a statement posted on the fighters' website, Houthi leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi supported anti-government protests demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Fars news agency reported.

The statement came after at least 52 people were killed and hundreds more injured on Friday when security forces opened fire on protesters in the capital Sana'a.

“The bloody and brutal crimes committed by Saleh's regime” against people at al-Taghir Square of Sana'a will “bring an end to the regime of oppression,” Al-Houthi said.

“The brutal crimes of the regime of Ali Abdullah Saleh are against all Islamic principles and human values,” he said.

President Saleh declared a state of emergency across the country after the deadly crackdown on protesters, who were demanding an end to Saleh's three-decade rule.

Yemen's Defense Ministry announced on Friday that Saleh made the decision following a meeting with the country's higher National Defense Council.

According to medical sources, most of the injuries were to the head, neck and chest.

A Press TV correspondent reported on Friday that snipers were shooting protesters from rooftops.

Following the violence, opposition groups said that there was no possibility of reaching an agreement with the government, and urged Saleh to leave.

"There is no longer any possibility of mutual understanding with this regime and he has no choice but to surrender authority to the people," said Yassin Noman, rotating president of Yemen's umbrella opposition group.

Similar anti-Saleh rallies are also being held in other Yemeni cities, including the southern port city of Aden and Hodeida in the west.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed serious concern over the loss of life and the injuries that have resulted from the escalation in violence.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/170703.html.