Yemeni women set fire to veils on Wednesday in protest at the government’s crackdown on demonstrators, after overnight clashes in the capital left 25 people dead, officials said.
The protest came as clashes intensified between Saleh’s forces and renegade fighters who have sided with the protesters. Medical and local officials said up to 25 civilians, tribal fighters and government soldiers died overnight in Sana’a and the city of Taiz, despite a ceasefire announcement by Saleh. Scores of others were wounded.
The women spread a black cloth across a main street in Sana’a and threw their full-body veils, known as makrama, on to a pile, sprayed it with oil and set it ablaze. They chanted: “Who protects Yemeni women from the crimes of the thugs?”