Yemeni female protesters burn veils to protest gov't violence

Hundreds of Yemeni women on Wednesday set fire to piles of their veils in the capital Sanaa to protest what they said "continuing violence" against protesters, demanding the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, witnesses said. "We threw our traditional veils onto the street and burnt them to protest against the ongoing violence by Saleh's forces on the protesters in Sanaa and other major cities, who are our brothers and sisters," a statement released by the rally' organizers said. The women spread the veils in big piles across 60th Street, a main street to the west of the nine-month-old camp of the protesters, spraying them with petrol and setting them on fire. "This is a message we forwarded to the United Nations Security Council, the international community and the human rights groups to alert them that the Yemeni men and women are being killed in the streets by Saleh's regime," the statement said. The rally urged the U.N. Security Council to remove the immunity guaranties offered to Saleh by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative, calling for "sanctions against him and his staff," according to the statement. Sporadic clashes reportedly took place in Sanaa and the southern Taiz province between the government forces and pro- protesters army and armed tribesmen since Tuesday night. The overnight clashes left at least six civilians, including a woman dead, and dozens of others injured, according to medics, government and opposition media. Meanwhile, hundreds of female supporters of Saleh marched in front of the UN building in Sanaa, waving pictures of the president and chanted slogans against the defected army and the armed tribesmen, witnesses said. Yemen has been in the grip of nine months of protests demanding an end to the 33-year rule of Saleh. The president on Monday welcomed the Security Council resolution adopted last Friday that urged him to halt using violence on protesters and cede power peacefully based on the GCC initiative.