Yemen troops kill 2 in new clashes with protesters

Forces loyal to Yemen’s embattled president opened fire at protesters demanding his ouster across the country on Monday, killing two demonstrators at two separate rallies and wounding at least 10 people at a third protest.The latest violence came as a Gulf Arab proposal for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down appears increasingly doomed, raising prospects of more bloodshed and instability in a nation already beset by deep poverty and conflict.Yemens unrest erupted over two months ago, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. The near-daily protests against Saleh, the countrys ruler of 32 years, have demanded he relinquish power immediately.Mondays deaths came during anti-Saleh protests in Ibb and in the central city of Bayda, said activist Ibrahim al-Budani.In the city of Ibb, 120 miles (190 kilometers) south of the capital Sanaa, demonstrators set fire to two cars used by government-paid thugs who shot at them but the attackers managed to flee, he said.In the southern city of Taiz, presidential guard troops, who are run by Salehs eldest son, fired bullets and tear gas into tens of thousands of protesters gathered there, according to activist Nouh al-Wafi. At least 10 protesters were wounded by gunshots in Taiz, some of them critically. Dozens suffered breathing problems from the tear gas.On Saturday, Saleh agreed to a formula by a Gulf Arab group, the Gulf Cooperation Council, for him to transfer power to his vice president within 30 days of a deal being signed in exchange for immunity from prosecution for him and his sons.A coalition of seven opposition parties generally accepted the deal but thousands on Sunday remained in a permanent protest camp in Sanaa, and their leaders said they suspected the president is just maneuvering to buy time and cling to power, as he has done in the past.