[سفيان]

20 injured at Yemen funeral after separatist protest

Sat Mar 27, 2010 7:52am EDT






ADEN, March 27 (Reuters) - Yemeni security forces fired tear gas and live bullets on Saturday into a funeral procession for people killed in separatist demonstrations earlier this month, injuring 20 people, witnesses said.

The clashes happened in the southern province of Dalea, where two protestors were shot dead on March 11 as security forces broke up a demonstration.

North and South Yemen united in 1990 but many people in the south, home to most Yemeni oil facilities, complain that northerners have used unification to grab resources and discriminate against them.

Last week Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared an end to a long-running war with northern Shi'ite rebels that drew in Saudi forces last year. [ID:nLDE62I12I]

The country is also cracking down on al Qaeda and Saleh was quoted on Saturday as saying Yemen had made progress with the help of regional and Western powers. [ID:nLDE62Q00S] (Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Jason Benham; Editing by David Stamp)