Yemeni soldiers in Sana'a opened fire Thursday on thousands of opposition demonstrators who were calling for a boycott of April parliamentary elections, injuring 23 people, three of them critically, the rally organizers said. According to the AP, the Interior Ministry said the troops fired only in the air to disperse the crowd, and it warned in a statement that the parties would be held responsible for “the consequences of their illegal acts.”
The country’s opposition groups are calling for a boycott because they contend that the results will be rigged by the election oversight body appointed by the president. Separately, the Yemeni journalists union issued a statement saying the troops using batons and weapon butts beat seven journalists who were covering the rally.
