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One protester killed, 11 injured by Yemeni police

03 July 2012 01:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. At least one protester was killed and 11 others injured when the police attempted to disperse dozens of jobless youths in Yemenâ€™s southeastern province of Hadramout on Monday, witnesses and medics said, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The police used guns, tear gas and batons to disperse scores of unemployed protesters near a main gate of an oil field operated by French Total company in Sahu area in Hadramout province, a witness told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Police opened fire at the angry protesters, killing at least one person and injuring 11 others at the scene," the witness said.

"The unemployed protesters were intending to organize a sit-in in front of the oilfield to demand jobs from the oil companies," he added.

A local medic at a nearby hospital told Xinhua anonymously that "about five protesters suffered very serious injuries... some in their chests and heads."

The countryâ€™s interior ministry said three army brigades were deployed Monday to protect an engineer team which was repairing a crude export pipeline in the countryâ€™s northeastern region due to threats of local militants.

Several armed tribes and Islamic groups have frequently attacked crude export pipelines to force the government to meet their demands, which further deteriorates the fuel shortage in the Arab country since popular protests against former President Ali Abdullah Saleh erupted in January 2011.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said recently that his country has lost more than 2 billion U.S. dollars due to repeated attacks on oil export pipelines.