Protesters Killed By Yemeni Forces In Capital

Government forces in Yemen have opened fire on tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters in the capital, killing at least 26 and wounding dozens of others.

The attack, with anti-aircraft guns and automatic weapons, was the deadliest in months in Sanaa as demonstrators continue to demand President Ali Abdullah Saleh's removal.

The protests have grown in the past week after many were angered by the ruler's decision to deputise his president to negotiate a power-transfer deal.

Many believe the move is just the latest of a series of delaying tactics.

Greater numbers of security forces and armed regime supporters have also been turning out in the streets in recent days, increasing the tensions.

More than 100,000 protesters massed around the state television building and government offices.

When the crowd began to march toward the nearby Presidential Palace, security forces opened fire, witnesses said.

Regime snipers fired down at the crowd from nearby rooftops, and plainclothes Saleh supporters armed with automatic rifles, swords and batons attacked the protesters.

"This peaceful protest was confronted by heavy weapons and anti-aircraft guns," said Mohammed al Sabri, an opposition spokesman.

He vowed that the escalating protests "will not stop and will not retreat".

Mohammed al Abahi, a doctor at Sanaa field hospital, said: "Most of the injuries are at the chest, shoulder, head and face."

A number of those injured are in critical condition.

President Saleh, who has been in Saudi Arabia recovering from burns and other wounds from an explosion at his palace in the summer, has resisted calls for him to resign.

He has refused to sign a US-backed deal under which he would step down in return for immunity for prosecution three times so far.