SANAA: One man was killed and two others were wounded as gunmen opened fire on a marketplace in south Yemen during a protest strike called by a separatist movement on Monday, a security official told AFP.
"Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a qat market in the town of Sanah," 300 kilometers south of Sanaa in Daleh province, the official said, referring to the chewable narcotic leaf beloved of Yemenis.
"One man was killed and two others were wounded," he added, declining to give further details.
Elsewhere on Monday, gunmen from the Southern Movement opened fire on the governorate building in the town of Daleh, capital of the province, according to witnesses.
The attack shattered the windows and sent panicked staff out into the streets, although it caused no casualties, they said, adding that police had launched a hunt for the assailants.
The incidents took place on the day of a strike called by the Southern Movement in protest at a "military siege" imposed on the town of Daleh.
Supporters of the Southern Movement, a coalition of groups whose demands range from economic and social reforms to full independence for the former South Yemen, distributed leaflets on Sunday calling for a general strike.
Several other southern towns observed the strike action, with shops remaining shuttered, residents said.
Pro-independence demonstrations have multiplied in the south over past months amid a worsening economic situation in Yemen and charges of discrimination in favour of northerners.
South Yemen was independent from 1967 until 1990 when it united with the north. The south seceded in 1994, sparking a short-lived conflict that ended when the south was overrun by northern troops.
