ADEN, Yemen, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Yemeni troops opened
fire on Thursday on a rally by southern secessionists opposed to
this week's presidential election, killing one protester and
wounding three others, an activist said.
Yemenis voted for a new president on Tuesday after a
year-long uprising ousted long-serving ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Secessionists who want to revive a socialist southern state
which was unified with the north in 1990 by Saleh, opposed the
vote in which Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, Saleh's
long-time right-hand and former army general, was the sole
candidate.
"Soldiers shot at people celebrating the (southern) boycott
of the elections. One person died in my arms before we could get
him to a hospital," activist Hassan al-Jilani said from the city
of Mukalla in southeastern Hadramout province.
Shi'ite rebels in the north, who were left out of a deal to
ease Saleh out of power through the election, also opposed the
vote.
The vote was backed by the United States and Yemen's rich
neighbours led by Saudi Arabia, which - alarmed at signs of al
Qaeda exploiting the disorder wracking the country to strengthen
its regional foothold - sponsored the peace deal signed in
November providing for Saleh to hand power to Hadi.
(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Firouz Sedarat)
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