By OLIVER HOLMES
SAN'A--Two people were killed and hundreds injured in clashes in the Yemeni capital Saturday, in some of the most violent confrontations between soldiers and antigovernment protesters since the recent round of unrest began in January.
Eyewitnesses said the army fired live ammunition, tear gas and rubber bullets into a crowd of around 3,000 antigovernment demonstrators, who hurled rocks at the soldiers. At the front line, protesters smashed the road with pickaxes and ripped out chunks of concrete to throw at the army.
Behind the army line, a smaller group of government supporters tossed rocks over the armor-clad soldiers and into the crowd.
Hundreds of men were carried on stretchers towards a mosque that has been transformed into a medical center. Some of the wounded were treated at the side of the road, many with head injuries from falling rocks and rubber bullets. Medics on the scene said that two people had died.
In a statement released on Saturday a spokesman from the Ministry of the Interior said, "riot police were not carrying live ammunition as they were under strict and clear orders not to do so." The statement suggested "third party instigators" opened fire on the crowds. There were unconfirmed reports of disgruntled residents in the neighborhood using live ammunition.
Fighting began in the early morning when the army used a water canon to try and push protesters back, according to witnesses. A six-hour battle ensued as the hordes pushed forward and back over a key intersection. By late morning, security forces retreated as the protesters held their ground.
More than 100,000 people mounted the largest demonstration in the capital to date Friday and the demonstration spread into two major roads. Throughout Friday night the army tried to calmly push the protesters back towards San'a University to prevent the demonstration flooding into new neighborhoods.
Doctors on the scene initially said that Ahmed al-Manaiee, a famous orator from the eastern province of Marib, had died. Late on Saturday, doctors said the dead man was in fact Abdullah Ali Daham, from the western city of Ibb, and had been misidentified as Mr. al-Manaiee.
Clashes were reported in other parts of the city and aid workers were told to stay home and stop all movements around San'a. Shooting was heard in Hadda, a wealthy district far from the protests.
The clashes come a day after Barack Obama's chief anti-terrorism advisor John Brennan urged Yemen's opposition to enter dialogue with President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Brennan said "representatives of all sectors of the Yemeni opposition should respond constructively to President Saleh's call to engage in a serious dialogue to end the current impasse."
The embattled president has been struggling to contain growing unrest after demonstrations demanding he step down have grown steadily over the past few weeks
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