Gulf Arab states urge dialogue in Yemen
Two Yemenis died and hundreds were hurt on Sunday when police used live rounds, tear gas and batons to try to break up protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who called for an end to weeks of unrest.
The two dead were among around 10 people hit by bullets in the violence in Taiz, south of the capital, doctors said, adding that dozens were wounded, and that they treated hundreds suffering from tear gas inhalation.
Protests inspired by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia have brought Saleh’s rule to the verge of collapse. But the president, a perennial survivor, called on Sunday for an end to the violence, signaling he has no intention of resigning soon.
"We call on the opposition coalition to end the crisis by ending sit-ins, blocking roads and assassinations, and they should end the state of rebellion in some military units," Saleh told visiting supporters from Taiz province.
Gulf Arab nations on Sunday appeared to support the Yemeni government’s call for talks with the opposition.
"The Gulf Cooperation Council calls onto all parties in Yemen to return to national dialogue," GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani said at a meeting of the six monarchies held in Riyadh.
The unrest, which broke out at the end of January, has so far cost at least 95 lives, according to global human rights watchdog Amnesty International.
But despite demands that he resign immediately after more than three decades of autocratic rule, President Saleh has hardened his stance since a massive pro-regime rally on March 25.