Yemen troops kill five protesters: witnesses

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SANAA: Troops loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh killed at least five anti-government protesters in an assault early Saturday in the capital Sanaa, witnesses and a medic told AFP.

Soldiers launched the attack a little after midnight Friday, hours after the return of the president from Saudi Arabia, where he spent three months recovering from injuries sustained during an attack on his palace on June 3.

Troops opened fire with guns and shelling Change Square, the focus of anti-government activity since it was first occupied in January.

Snipers also targetted the people in the square from buildings around the square, witnesses said.

An hour after the start of the attack, forces loyal to the president tried to storm the square, which by then was coming under fire from all sides, they added.

"At least five protesters were killed," said a medic at a field hospital set up in the square.

Tents in the southern part of the square caught fire during the attack and in the streets around the square soldiers loyal to the president fought with dissident troops commanded rebel General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.

Protesters in Change Square, which lies on the edge of Sanaa University in the north of capital, has been under the protection of Ahmar's forces since March.

Witnesses said the troops attacking the square were members of the elite Republican Guard led by the eldest son of the President Saleh, Ahmed.

In the north of the capital meanwhile, fighting resumed between the president's troops and supporters of dissident tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar in the Al-Hasaba district, residents said.

Locals reported the sound of automatic weapons and explosions.

Fighting there on Friday left 18 dead and 56 wounded, said Al-Sahwa.net, the news website of Yemen's Islamist main opposition party, Al-Islah (Reform) which is headed by influential businessman Hamid al-Ahmar, Sadiq's brother.

The latest violence brought the number of those killed to 25 since Friday -- and to 120 since a fresh wave of violence hit the capital on Sunday.

It came after the surprise return of the president Friday from Saudi Arabia, where he had spent three months being treated injuries sustained during an attack on his palace on June 3.

He received an enthusiastic reception from tens of thousands of his supporters at a rally in the capital.

The official Saba news agency reported Saleh as saying: "I have returned home carrying the dove of peace and an olive branch, not holding any grudges or hatred towards anyone."

He called on all Yemenis to "overcome their pain and wounds for the sake of the nation and its dignity," the agency reported.

But Washington called on the veteran president to step down after eight months of bloody protests. The White House said Friday he should begin a "full transfer of power". (AFP)