7 civilians killed in Yemen bombardment

A Yemeni soldier stands on a hill overlooking Sanaa in 2010 Shelling attacks on the southwest Yemeni town of Taez, a hotbed of anti-regime protest, left seven civilians dead and 22 others injured Tuesday, a medical source said. Local residents were targetted in four parts of the town by the elite Republican Guard and special police units. They launched appeals for help but were unable to get the victims to safety, the source said.
The attacks continued into the night, he added, without giving any information on what sparked the bombardment.
Taez, 270 kilometres (170 miles) southwest of Saana, is one of the main focuses of the protest movement against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Earlier Tuesday, shells fired into a popular shopping district of Yemen's capital killed two civilians as demonstrators called for the president to be put on trial.
Tens of thousands of people marched in Sanaa Tuesday calling for Saleh'souster and trial.
Saleh, in power for 33 years, has so far refused to resign despite the wave of popular protests that has swept the country since January demanding that he step down.
The UN envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, who arrived in the country last month to try to resolve the deteriorating political crisis, left Sanaa on Monday without managing to broker a solution.