Anti-government protestors wave their national flag and chant slogans during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa. -AP Photo

SANAA: One prisoner was killed and some 60 people, including around 20 police, were hurt Tuesday, in clashes between Yemeni security forces and inmates at Sanaa's central jail, a security official said.

Tawfiq Numan al-Sharif was killed as riot police tried to contain the uprising at the prison which began Monday, said the security official requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

He said that some 20 police and around 40 prisoners were wounded, including four inmates who suffered gunshot wounds.

The prison protest took place as anti-regime demonstrations have raged in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country for more than a month.

A security official said that the protest at the compound was sparked by alleged mistreatment, with inmates demanding the removal of the current prison director.

The official said that authorities suspect that some political prisoners incited inmates to transform their demonstration to an anti-regime protest.

Anti-government demonstrations across Yemen have left at least 27 people dead since late January, according to a toll by Amnesty International. Scores have also been wounded in the violence.

Opinion

Editorial

Reserved seats
Updated 15 May, 2024

Reserved seats

The ECP's decisions and actions clearly need to be reviewed in light of the country’s laws.
Secretive state
15 May, 2024

Secretive state

THERE is a fresh push by the state to stamp out all criticism by using the alibi of protecting national interests....
Plague of rape
15 May, 2024

Plague of rape

FLAWED narratives about women — from being weak and vulnerable to provocative and culpable — have led to...
Privatisation divide
Updated 14 May, 2024

Privatisation divide

How this disagreement within the government will sit with the IMF is anybody’s guess.
AJK protests
14 May, 2024

AJK protests

SINCE last week, Azad Jammu & Kashmir has been roiled by protests, fuelled principally by a disconnect between...
Guns and guards
14 May, 2024

Guns and guards

THERE are some flawed aspects to our society that we must start to fix at the grassroots level. One of these is the...