Prisoners riot and women take to streets as Yemen faces meltdown

Thousands of inmates rioted at a prison in the Yemeni capital yesterday, taking a dozen guards hostage and joining the growing calls for the president to step down. At least one prisoner was killed and 80 people were wounded.

The unrest at the prison in the capital, Sanaa, started late on Monday when prisoners set their blankets and mattresses on fire and occupied the main courtyard, a security official said.

Yemen has been rocked by weeks of protests against president Ali Abdullah Saleh, inspired by recent uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia that removed veteran leaders. In a sign that the protests are gaining traction, graffiti calling for Mr Saleh to step down surfaced yesterday in his birthplace, the village of Sanhan, for the first time since protests began in mid-February.

Mr Saleh, a key US ally in the campaign against al-Qaeda, has been in power for 32 years.

Yesterday, prison guards fired tear gas and bullets in the air but failed to subdue the rioters, the security official said.

Residents close to the prison reported hearing gunfire and explosions and said troops were bringing in reinforcements.

Abdelrahman Burman, a lawyer who heads a human rights organisation called "Sajin" - Arabic for prisoner - said at least one inmate was shot dead and more than 80 people wounded, including 20 policemen and prison guards.

He said about half of the wounded were shot and the rest suffered breathing problems from the tear gas.

In Sanaa, the army deployed armoured cars at junctions leading to the president's office, the Central Bank, Sanaa University and sensitive government buildings. Meanwhile, large demonstrations were held in various parts of the country. In the southern port city of Aden, women joined a demonstration after a young protester was shot in the head and critically wounded during a rally there the previous day.

Tens of thousands protested in Ibb province calling for justice after a protester was killed on Sunday when armed thugs descended on a protest camp in the main square. Fifty-three people were hurt.

Yemen, neighbour to oil giant Saudi Arabia, was teetering on the brink even before recent protests.The country was growing increasingly chaotic with a resurgent al-Qaeda, a separatist movement in the south and an off-on Shiite revolt in the north.

Yemen's foreign minister blamed the protests on poor economic conditions in the impoverished state where 40 per cent of its 23 million people live on little more than 1 a day and a third face malnutrition.

He said he wanted foreign donors to inject up to $6 billion (3.8bn) to fill a five-year budget gap and would present a development plan later this month to donor nations including European and Gulf Arab allies as well as the United States.

"What we need is really development and economic growth because the present political crisis is really as a result of the economic situation in Yemen," Abubakr al-Qirbi said after meeting Gulf Co-operation Council foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi.

In a bid to quell the protests, the president called for national dialogue after meetings on Monday with top political and security chiefs. The state-run news agency said the conference would be held on Thursday.

But opposition leader Yassin Said Numan said there would be no dialogue unless Mr Saleh agreed to step down.

Mr Saleh's recent pledge not to run for re-election in 2013 has failed to silence his critics.