Yemen protest attacked by police
Police in Yemen have attacked a camp of anti-government demonstrators in the centre of the capital, Sanaa, in a clash that reportedly left one dead and hundreds injured.
Reports are surfacing reporting clashes in Tahrir Square following police action there tear gas, water cannon, and live bullets were fired at protestors. One protester is said to have been killed and hundreds injured, so far.
The clashes, lasting weeks now, came after the US urged opposition groups to take up President Ali Abdullah Saleh's call for talks. The weeks of protest against his 32-year rule have left about 30 people dead so far.
Yemenis one of a number of countries in the North African and Middle East region that have seen increasing unrest since the presidents of Egypt and Tunisia were ousted in popular revolts earlier this year.
Witnesses have been reported as saying that hundreds of police invaded the area where protesters have been camping for weeks, while doctors working at the camp said police have been also blocking medical teams from entering the area. Medical personnel on the ground have also reported that one person died from a shot to the head.
On Thursday, President Saleh announced plans to change the constitution to move to a parliamentary system during a televised address. He also said a referendum would be held this year on measures including a new election law.
However, opposition groups said their demands were "bigger than that", and have dismissed Saleh's earlier promise not to seek re-election after his current term ends in 2013.
The Yemeni republic was created by the merger of North and South Yemen in 1990. Before that, Saleh led the Yemen Arab Republic - the northern part of present-day Yemen - since 1978 when he came to power in a military coup. Direct presidential elections were first held in 1999.
Although nominally a multi-party system, Yemeni politics has been dominated by Saleh's General People's Congress since unification.
On Thursday President Saleh promised to protect demonstrators. "We have ordered the security forces to continue to provide protection for all the protesters, whether they are supporters of our legitimacy or from the opposition," he said.
