Taiz Live Blog

Clashes erupted in Yemen's second city on Saturday as protesters in the capital Sanaa condemned international silence in the face of a government crackdown that left more than 15 dead the previous day.

"Oh world, the children and women of Taiz are being killed...where is your conscience?" chanted tens of thousands of protesters in Sanaa who for 10 months now have been calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

"To the world and the (UN) Security Council, don't you see Saleh is shelling Taiz?" they chanted.  

On Friday 15 civilians were killed in Taiz. The violence continued on Saturday as armed tribesmen who have thrown their support behind the protest movement clashed with government troops in the Hassab district of Taiz, witnesses said. [AFP]

At least 11 people have been killed in heavy fighting in the Yemeni city of Taiz, a day after a UN envoy began a new mission to push President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign under a Gulf-backed peace plan.

Witnesses and medical staff said at least 25 people were also wounded on Friday in fighting between Saleh's Republican Guards and opposition tribesmen in Yemen's third largest city, a centre of anti-Saleh protests some 200km south of the capital Sanaa.

Abdulrahim al-Samie, an anti-government activist in Taiz, told Al Jazeera that "what is happening in Taiz today is a real war against civilians".

Witnesses said two children and three woman were among those killed in tank and mortar fire aimed at the al-Rawda and Zaid al-Moshki districts, as well as Freedom Square - where demonstrators demanding an end to Saleh's 33-year-long rule had gathered for noon prayers.

Activists in Yemen claim one teenager was killed and several others wounded when Yemeni forces shelled protesters in the highlands city of Taiz.