At least 13 people were killed in clashes with police in Yemen on Wednesday after rioters smashed government offices and set fires in response to a sharp rise in fuel prices. The clashes were the heaviest death toll in Yemen protests since 1998 when 34 people died in two weeks of demonstrations and violent clashes over price hikes.
Thousands of protesters in the capital, Sanaa, smashed furniture in government offices, blocked roads with flaming tyres, and knocked out electricity transformers in some areas.
Rioters also wrecked stores, cars and restaurants before anti-riot police, backed by security forces, deployed in large numbers to stop the violence.
Police fired shots in the air and used tear gas to disperse protesters hurling stones at the offices of Prime Minister Abdul-Qader Bagammal and ambulances rushed injured to hospital.
But it was not clear if the casualties were caused by police who opened fire at the protesters or by armed demonstrators in a country where civilians often carry arms.
Witnesses and medics reported similar protests in three other towns, including the town of Dhala in south Yemen where seven of the 13 dead were killed, including one policeman.
Yemenis were protesting against a government announcement on Tuesday to cut fuel subsidies as part of a 1995 reform programme backed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The government says the economy could collapse without reforms.
Demonstrators shouted slogans attacking Bagammal and Saleh's ruling party. Police, using tear gas and water cannon to control the crowds, blocked off the house of Vice President Abd-Rabbu Hadi where protesters converged.