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.

Thirteen die in Yemen riots over fuel price rises

By Mohammed Sudam
Reuters
Wednesday, July 20, 2005; 11:25 AM

SANAA (Reuters) - 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 tires, 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 program backed by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The government says the economy could collapse without reforms.

"This is a natural reaction because the government's reforms are a lie and we can't take it any more...This government is making the rich richer and the poor poorer," said one man.

AILING ECONOMY

Analysts said the riots posed a challenge to the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh which is struggling to prevent an economic collapse in a country ridden by staggering debt, acute poverty and high unemployment.

"What happened today was a spontaneous reaction by the people who feel targeted in their livelihood. Such riots will hurt the country's stability," political analyst Saeed Thabet told Reuters.

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.

Bagammal has said the government wants to cut $500 million a year of diesel subsidies as part of an economic reform program in the poor country of 20 million people.

A liter of diesel rose to 45 rials (24 U.S. cents) from 17 rials; a liter of petrol was priced at 65 rials, up from 35 rials, and a liter of kerosene rose to 45 rials from 16 rials. Gas cylinders rose to 400 rials from 250 rials.

The government said this week's hikes were in line with surging global oil prices.

Opposition parties say such measures will increase pressure on the poor and demand instead a crackdown on corruption, which they blame for Yemen's economic problems.

According to World Bank figures, more than 42 percent of its 19 million people live below the poverty line, illiteracy is estimated at 50 percent and unemployment is over 20 percent.