Troops kill 20 protesters in Yemen

The heavy crackdown shows Saleh still wants to preserve his 33-year rule.

Hundreds of soldiers loyal to Yemen s embattled president stormed a protest camp in a southern city on Monday and fired on the crowds indiscriminately, killing at least 20 people, according to medical official and witnesses.The city of Taiz has been a hotbed of anti-government protests since crowds began calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh s ouster in early February. The heavy crackdown there signaled Saleh was still intent on preserving his 33-year rule despite the upheaval, intense international pressure to step aside and defections by key allies and some army units.Security forces first tried to clear the square in Taiz with water cannons, tear gas and sound bombs, sending thousands rushing for shelter.

Forces from the Republican Guard, which is commanded by one of Saleh s sons, then moved in before dawn with tanks and bulldozers, said Sadek al-Shugaa, head of a field hospital at the protest camp.

Republican Guard soldiers along with security forces and armed men in civilian clothes attacked the protesters. Some set fire to dozens of tents used by the protesters, and bulldozers ran over hundreds of other tents without checking whether any protesters were still inside, two witnesses said.Troops also attacked the Majeedi Hotel overlooking the square, where journalists were detained, al-Shugaa said. Then snipers took over the top of the building to shoot at protesters. A video showed masked men with rifles shooting from rooftops at the protesters in the street.