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YEMEN: Nine members of parliament resign to protest government violence

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Nine members of parliament have resigned from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ruling party to protest government violence against demonstrators, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Two anti-government protesters were killed and more than 10 were wounded by gunfire during clashes with supporters of Saleh in the capital city Sana on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

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The resignations, including some major allies of Saleh, are a political blow to a president facing popular demands for an end to his 32-year rule, though he still retains the support of 80% of parliamentarians, Reuters said.

‘The people must have the right to demonstrate peacefully,’ Abdulaziz Jubari, a leading parliamentarian who has resigned, told Reuters.

Jubari said the parliamentarians had sent a 10-point letter to Saleh with demands for immediate reform and restructuring of the army to make it more representative of Yemen’s complex society, and to aid a transition to democracy, Reuters said.

The Times reported Wednesday that two weeks of protests in Yemen have repeatedly called for Saleh to step down, but the movement has lacked cohesion.

-- Garrett Therolf

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