The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday voiced strong concern over the Yemeni government's violent clamp down on peaceful protests, and asked Sana'a as well as all groups and parties in the country to exercise self-restraint.

"Only settlement of issues through talks and through a political and peaceful process which is participated by all political and social parties, groups and movements can restore security, stability and calm to Yemen," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Marziyeh Afkham said on Wednesday.

Police stepped up violence against Yemeni people to disperse protesters blocking the road between the capital and Sanaa airport on Monday.

A day later, a Yemeni man was shot dead and several others wounded as soldiers opened fire on protesters as part of the government's plan to suppress the popular uprisings.

Police used tear gas and water cannon against the protesters, who were camped along the road near the interior ministry.

A few hours later on Tuesday, government's soldiers killed four more people in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, as protests flare in the Arab country.

Meanwhile, airstrikes by the Yemeni air force over the past two days left around 100 people dead in the Northern Al-Jawf province, a reliable security source said Tuesday.

The latest round of unrest comes as hundreds of thousands of Yemeni people from various tribes and faiths have been staging massive protests in Sanaa for the last several weeks to demand the dismissal of the government and the reversal of an earlier government decision to slash fuel subsidies.

They rejected Mansour Hadi’s initiative to form a new government and partially reduce fuel prices.

The protesters said they will continue their mass rallies until all their demands are met.

The Yemeni army and security forces have on numerous occasions used force against the protests. But the crackdown has so far failed to stop the protests.

The Houthi movement that played a key role in the popular uprising that forced former dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in 2012 is now a part of the comprehensively popular protests.


 

News ID 187163