Imad Al-Saqqaf, a local journalist and eyewitness, said the protesters who planned to stage a rally in front of the governor’s office in the city to demand the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, were confronted by police and gunmen a short distance from the complex.
"The police tried to convince them to keep distance from the governorate. When they refused, they fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse them."
A medic attending to the wounded said at least 17 people were killed and 500 injured, some of them trampled by fleeing demonstrators.
Taiz Gov. Hamoud Al-Sofi told the Saba news agency that protesters were armed and attacked the governorate. He accused them of preventing government ambulances from ferrying the injured to hospitals.
In clashes between protesters and police in the western port city of Hudaida that lasted for hours more than 500 people were injured, a local doctor told Arab News by telephone.
Dr. Najeeb Molhi said most of the injured suffered from breathing problems and spasms from inhaling tear gas. "We used dozens of oxygen cylinders to treat the cases. Other protesters suffered gunshot and stab wounds," the doctor said.
In the capital Sanaa, Saleh reassured his supporters Monday that he would remain in power. "Since you gave me your trust, I will live up to your trust and I'll remain steadfast," Saleh told a group of supporters who visited him.
But with the death toll rising, the president appears to be losing American support.
The US is taking part in efforts to negotiate Saleh's departure and a transitional handover of power, according to a report in the New York Times on Sunday.
US officials have told allies they see Saleh's position as untenable due to the widespread protests and believe he should leave office. Talks on his departure had been under way for more than a week.
The talks centered on a proposal for Saleh to hand power over to a provisional government under his vice president until new elections. The principle is "not in dispute," an unnamed Yemeni official told the paper.
