Yemenis Killed in Riots over Fuel Prices
20/07/2005| IslamWeb
At least eight people have been killed in Yemen in clashes with police as demonstrators threw stones at government buildings to protest against subsidy cuts doubling petrol prices.
Several were wounded in the protests on Wednesday, reported Aljazeera's correspondent Ahmad al-Shalafi.
Police also confirmed to the Associated Press that eight people, including a security guard, were killed in demonstrations that turned violent in the capital and the southwestern provinces of Dhamar and Ad Dali, 155km and 200km south of Yemen, respectively.
Residents in a commercial street in the capital said two people were killed, including a 12-year old, in an exchange of fire with security forces. There was no official confirmation of this report.
In the capital Sanna, rioters set fire to tyres and blocked the streets.
Witnesses reported similar protests in three other towns where seven of the eight deaths were reported.
Protesters shouted slogans attacking Prime Minister Abdul-Qadir Bagammal and the ruling party of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The military reinforced police presence across the city to control protesters and in one neighbourhood tried to prevent protesters from charging towards the ruling party's headquarters in the capital.
The government said the decision - which it had postponed announcing at least thrice to avoid sparking protests - would help alleviate the budget deficit.
Critics however said curbing public expenditure all round, including military spending, would have been more effective.
Low-income areas
The hundreds of protesters came from mostly low income neighbourhoods in the north, east and south of Sanaa, meeting in the city centre and tearing down billboard posters, burning tyres, and pelting police standing in front of the ruling party office with stones.
Smoke could be seen swelling atop the city, and gunshots were heard in different neighbourhoods.
Some military vehicles were seen protecting the ruling party's offices in the northern neighbourhood of al-Hassada, together with riot and military police.
Truckloads of soldiers were seen leaving camps and heading to the city's main streets, which were mostly blocked by security to stop the flow of protesters into the area.
About 300 protesters wrenched metal tree protectors from their bases to use as road blocks, halting traffic to the airport. Hundreds shouted: "No Bagammal after today".
Riot police fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd which later re-gathered and pelted police with stones. Police retaliated with water cannons.
There were no official reports of damage and security officials declined to comment on the unrest.
Shops closed, attacked
Shops around the city were seen opening and then closing after the rioters swarmed the streets. In one neighbourhood, rioters tore down a poster of the Yemeni Airlines and attacked a private company's office, destroying its computers and belongings, witnesses said.
Petrol, diesel, kerosene and gas compressed in containers for public use are to be sold at almost double the price as a result of the subsidy removal.
Tickets for some public transport increased by about 30%, starting midnight on Tuesday.
A litre of diesel rose to 45 riyals (24 US cents) from 17 riyals; a litre of petrol was priced at 65 riyals, up from 35
riyals, and a litre of kerosene rose to 45 riyals from 16 rials. Gas cylinders rose to 400 rials from 250 riyals.
The government said it would offset the increase in prices by cutting tariffs and taxes on sales, while promising to carry out a gradual increase in salaries and wages.
It also said it would include 200,000 new cases in the government's social care programme.
Unacceptable
Yemen endured two days of clashes in mid-March between police and protesters when the government proposed a new tax bill that raised prices on a wide range of goods by 10%.
Nabil al-Sughi, a leading member of the powerful Islamic-oriented Islah party criticised the decision announced on Tuesday, saying cutting subsidies was only acceptable if it were part of a general reform programme that included curbing widespread corruption and military spending.
"The state general budget must change, all public spending must be reviewed and a new programme to cut on military spending and the president's portions which eats up the general budget must be diminished," al-Sughi said in a statement.
According to World Bank figures, more than 42% of Yemen's 19 million people live below the poverty line, illiteracy is estimated at 50%, and unemployment is over 20%.
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