Shiite Militia Shoot Dead Two Yemen Protesters

Shiite militiamen in Yemen killed two protesters on Thursday when they opened fire on a rally in support of the beleaguered Western-backed president, a medic and an activist said.

Thousands of people had joined the demonstration in the central city of Baida, which the Huthi militiamen who control the capital seized last month, said organizing committee member Fahd al-Tawil.

The Huthis fired live rounds to disperse them, said Tawil.

A medic said "two people were killed and six others were wounded," raising an earlier toll, after injured protester succumbed to his wounds.

Demonstrations in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi have multiplied since he escaped from house arrest in the capital last month and resumed power from second city Aden.

They have been particularly widespread in confessionally mixed and mainly Sunni central provinces where opposition to the Shiite militia runs deep.

The Huthis control much of northern Yemen but Aden and adjacent southern provinces are largely in the hands of troops and paramilitaries loyal to Hadi.