Clashes continued Tuesday in Yemen between police and protesters calling on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, leaving more people dead and hundreds injured, DPA reported.
In the southern province of Taiz, 400 people suffered the effects of tear gas. Police and armed pro-government supporters attacked protesters rallying in the streets, witnesses told the German Press Agency dpa via telephone.
The violence comes after at least 17 people were killed Monday when security forces tried to disperse protesters in Taiz. More than 1,000 were injured.
In the capital Sana'a, two protesters were killed and 10 injured in clashes with security forces Tuesday, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported.
Two were killed in the western province of Hudeidah when police and snipers fired on the protesters with live ammunition and tear gas. Some 300 fell sick due to inhaling tear gas.
"President Saleh's calls to resolve the crisis mean little when his forces are firing on demonstrators," said Joe Stork, of Human Rights Watch.
Since mid-February, at least 82 people have been killed and hundreds injured, the New York-based group said, as it urged Saleh to "immediately order security forces to cease using unlawful lethal force" against protesters.
"The United States and other governments should suspend military aid to Yemen until authorities stop the attacks and hold those responsible to account," Stork said.
Meanwhile, Washington has shifted its stance toward one of its main counterterrorism allies, suggesting that a power transition in Yemen cannot be avoided but must be implemented through political dialogue to avoid a power vacuum that the terrorist network al-Qaeda might exploit.
"We are obviously concerned that in this period of political unrest that al-Qaeda and other groups will attempt to take advantage of that power vacuum, and that's one of the reasons why we urge political dialogue to take place and a timetable for this transition that President Saleh has talked about to be begun," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday.
France, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait called Monday for the Yemen government and opposition to convene for dialogue, which was welcomed by the Yemeni government.
A meeting to tackle Yemen unrest will be held soon in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, between the Yemeni government and the opposition, according to state-run news agency SABA.
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