Witnesses say at least 26 people killed and dozens wounded after security forces open fire on protesters massed in Sana'a

This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

Yemeni forces reportedly opened fire with anti-aircraft guns and automatic weapons on tens of thousands of anti-government protesters who gathered on Sunday in the capital city, Sana'a, to demand the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

At least 26 people were killed and dozens were wounded, witnesses said, in the deadliest attack for months against protesters.

Tensions have been escalating in the long, drawn-out deadlock between the regime and the opposition. Saleh left for Saudi Arabia for treatment after being severely wounded in a 3 June attack on his palace, raising hopes for his swift removal but he has dug in, refusing to step down.

Demonstrations grew this week after Saleh assigned his vice president to negotiate a power-transfer deal – a move many believe is just the latest of many delaying tactics. Greater numbers of security forces and armed regime supporters have also been out on the streets, raising fears of a new bloody confrontation.

Witnesses said more than 100,000 protesters massed on Sunday around the state TV building and government offices, and security forces opened fire when they began to march toward the nearby presidential palace. Snipers fired from rooftops, and plainclothes Saleh supporters armed with automatic rifles, swords and batons attacked the protesters.

"This peaceful protest was confronted by heavy weapons and anti-aircraft guns," said Mohammed al-Sabri, an opposition spokesman. He vowed that the protests "will not stop and will not retreat".

A Yemeni opposition television network carried live footage of men carrying injured protesters on stretchers, including a motionless man whose face was covered with blood and bandaged. Other young men were lying on the floor in the chaotic field hospital.

Protesters throwing stones managed to break through security force lines and advance towards the Yemeni Republican Palace in the heart of Sana'a, turning the clashes with the security forces into street battles.

The Saba state news agency quoted a security official as saying that the Muslim Brotherhood had held "unlicensed protests" near the university of Sanaa, and "the militia threw firebombs at a power station, setting it on fire"

Although Saleh has been in Saudi Arabia since June, he has resisted calls to resign, despite a Gulf-mediated, US-backed deal under which he would step down in return for immunity from prosecution. Saleh has already backed away three times from signing the deal.

America once saw Saleh as a key ally in the battle against the dangerous Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, which has taken over parts of southern Yemen during the political turmoil. Its support was withdrawn as the protests gained strength.

Demonstrations also took place in many other Yemeni cities, including Taiz, Saada, Ibb and Damar, while government troops shelled for the third day a district in the capital held for months by a powerful anti-government tribal chief and his armed supporters.

Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar said his fighters did not return fire after the shelling by the elite Republican Guard. Ahmar said he did not want to give Saleh any excuse not to sign a deal to transfer power after ruling the impoverished country for 33 years.