Two Wounded in Yemen Rival Protests

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Clashes between loyalists of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh and protesters from the defense ministry demanding an end to corruption left two people injured on Monday, witnesses said.

Hundreds of officers from the defense ministry's media arm, known as the Department of Moral Guidance, staged a sit-in outside their Sanaa headquarters, calling for General Ali al-Shater, who has headed the department since 1978, to be fired over corruption, witnesses said.

But the striking officers clashed with pro-Saleh demonstrators, some armed with kalashnikovs, who had organized their own demonstration, according to witnesses, who said that two people were injured.

The clashes came as anti-corruption strikes spread across several military and government departments in the impoverished country where the economy is on the brink of collapse after nearly 11 months of anti-Saleh protests.

A military official said that soldiers from another department -- the officers' administration -- also began a sit-in calling for the dismissal of its head, General Qaid al-Ansi.

Similar anti-corruption strikes were continuing at the aviation and air Defence College, the state al-Thawra General Hospital, and national carrier Yemenia Airways.

Students and officers from the naval college in the port city of al-Hudaydah have also been on strike for the past four days.

On Saturday, thirteen people were killed in an attack by security forces and Saleh loyalists against a march of thousands calling for the embattled leader to face trial.

In November, the 69-year-old Saleh agreed to cede power in return for immunity from prosecution

Hundreds have been killed in an uprising calling for the departure of Saleh and his regime, as well as an end to his relatives' control over the military and security services.