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‘Dozens hurt in clashes over Yemen vote’
Armed clashes between supporters and opponents of a presidential election in Yemen left dozens of people wounded in the main southern city of Aden, activists from both sides said on Saturday.
The violence erupted late on Friday when supporters of the Southern Movement, a separatist group, attacked a march organised by rivals from a year-old protest movement against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, one activist said.
More than 30 demonstrators were injured, some by gunfire, he added. A medical official confirmed that dozens of people had been hurt, and one who suffered serous head injuries was rushed to hospital in Aden.
Nasser Tawil of the Southern Movement said the “tragic and unacceptable” clashes happened because supporters and opponents of Yemen’s presidential election set for February 21 were in the same neighbourhood.
Some factions of the Movement have been campaigning for a boycott of the election, which they say fails to meet their aspirations for autonomy or even southern independence.
Armed clashes between supporters and opponents of a presidential election in Yemen left dozens of people wounded in the main southern city of Aden, activists from both sides said on Saturday.
The violence erupted late on Friday when supporters of the Southern Movement, a separatist group, attacked a march organised by rivals from a year-old protest movement against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, one activist said.
More than 30 demonstrators were injured, some by gunfire, he added. A medical official confirmed that dozens of people had been hurt, and one who suffered serous head injuries was rushed to hospital in Aden.
Nasser Tawil of the Southern Movement said the “tragic and unacceptable” clashes happened because supporters and opponents of Yemen’s presidential election set for February 21 were in the same neighbourhood.
Some factions of the Movement have been campaigning for a boycott of the election, which they say fails to meet their aspirations for autonomy or even southern independence.
