Four dead as Yemeni security forces open fire at demonstration of separatist southerners

At least four people were killed and 40 wounded in south Yemen on Thursday when security forces opened fire to disperse a protest by secessionist activists in the port city of Aden. Witnesses said the security forces shot at dozens of separatists as they staged a demonstration against President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi on the anniversary of his election.
The separatists had gathered on Thursday to protest against the holding of celebrations by Hadi's supporters in the southern port city, the former capital of independent South Yemen, intended to mark the completion of his first year in power.
A witness said the military brought in armoured vehicles to Aden's Khor al-Maksar and Crater neighbourhoods where most of the protests were taking place.
The rights group Amnesty International called on the Yemeni government to immediately put an end to "such repression against southerners." Anne Harrison, Vice-President of Amnesty International for the Middle East and North Africa said in an address to the press "the southern movement and its followers have have the right to peacefully demonstrate ... The government should not impede on such right." She strongly condemned the use of live ammunition against unarmed and peaceful civilian, stressing the state should have refrained from dispatching so many Central Security Forces personnel in the streets of Aden.