On Monday, 20 protesters in the southern city of Taiz were killed by forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The bloody crackdown is a further signal that Saleh is determined not to give up his rule over Yemen, where he has been in power for 33 years. Jet fire from Yemen’s military killed at least 30 in the southern city of Zinjibar, which was seized by alleged al-Qaeda fighters over the weekend, says Al-Jazeera.

The Guardian says that security forces brutally stormed a protesters’ camp in Taiz:

Security forces first tried to clear the square in Taiz with water cannon, teargas 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, the 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 demonstrators, and bulldozers ran over hundreds of other tents without checking whether anyone was inside, two witnesses said.

Mohammed al-Zarafi, said he saw tents being set on fire while injured protesters were still inside.

The other witness, Boushra al-Maqtali, called the attack “a real massacre”.

“The square and the [field] hospital are in ruins,” she said. “The tanks took the place of hundreds of tents that were set up there. The artillery units are occupying the whole space to make it impossible for the youth to return to the square.”

The New York Times says that a hospital within the protest area was looted. A doctor, Abdulkafi Shamsan, said that about 15 soldiers “held nurses at gunpoint as they smashed computers, stole medical supplies and detained several injured patients.” Soldiers shot guns inside the hospital. Saying that he had been in the operating room, Shamsan said he “…went downstairs and … saw everything destroyed.” Witnesses also report that troops attacked the Majeedi hotel, which overlooks the square, and snipers positioned themselves on its roof. Journalists are being detained at the hotel.

The video below shows the aftermath of the attack on the protesters’ camp in Taiz.

In Zinjibar, Al-Jazeera reports that the air attack hit buildings and left the city of 20,000 “devastated,” its residents gone and, as an opposition member in the city who asked to be named as Ali said, abandoned by “even the dogs, animals and donkeys.”

Opposition forces blamed Saleh for allowing Zinjibar to fall to al-Qaeda and other fighters to “raise alarm in the region that would in turn win him support.” Last week saw an upsurge in violence in Yemen following Saleh’s third refusal to sign a deal to transfer power. Members of the Hashid tribe under their leader Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar clashed with Saleh’s forces in Sanaa leaving some 124 dead until a ceasefire was called on Saturday. But violence and fighting — as horribly displayed in Zinjibar and Taiz — continue throughout the country.

The “unprovoked and unjustified attack on youth protesters” has been condemned by the United States Embassy in Sanaa, says the New York Times. Protesters continue to occupy a central area of Sanaa. Says a student, Salah Sharafi: “We are scared of course. We are preparing ourselves for such an attack.”

Previous Care2 Coverage

Is Saleh Deliberately Letting Yemen Fall Into Chaos?

US, European, Arab Ambassadors Trapped in Embassy; Yemeni President Again Refuses to Sign Deal

Yemeni President Saleh Calls For Early Elections: Is He Stalling Again?