At least 10 Killed in Yemeni Clash in Interior Ministry

Photo Credit: EPA

Protests by unofficial Yemeni police loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh turned violent Tuesday when the demonstrators stormed the Interior Ministry, killing 10 people in clashes with security forces. The demonstrators had been protesting  outside the ministry building since Sunday demanding pay and official employment, and had been joined by  pro-Saleh tribesmen. Reports also indicate that Saleh’s nephew Yahia Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, who is commander of the Central Security police force, sent more police to join the demonstrators shortly before the ministry was stormed. Pro-Saleh police held the building and surrounding streets for hours before security forces regained control.

Meanwhile, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi refused to receive an Iranian envoy as “an expression of Sanaa’s displeasure with Tehran’s policy towards Yemen.” Yemen recently declared that they had uncovered an Iranian spy ring based in Sanaa, and President Hadi ordered Iran to stay out of Yemeni affairs. The envoy had come to the capital to invite the president to the Non-Aligned Movement’s summit in Tehran next month.

Also, the interior minister named members of the al-Jalal tribe as responsible for the  kidnapping of an Italian embassy security official this weekend. The abductors are asking for a $70,000 ransom and for removal from government blacklists.