yemen
Protesters shout slogans against the deployment of armed militia of the Shiite Houthi movement in Yemeni cities during a demonstration in Sanaa Nov. 1, 2014. Reuters/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

Yemeni opposition leader Mohammed Abdulmalik al-Mutawakil was assassinated in Sanaa Sunday, according to multiple reports. Yemen Updates tweeted that gunmen attacked al-Mutawakel in the downtown area of the country’s capital city.

Al-Mutawakil was the secretary-general of the Union of Popular Forces party and the former president of the Joint Meetings Party. He earned the JMP’s enmity two years ago when he proposed restructuring the military and reached out to youth and the southern separatist movement, National Yemen reported.

Agence France-Press reported the assassination was carried out by a gunman on a motorcycle. Medical sources told AFP he was shot in the neck.

Elsewhere, 18 Yemeni troops were killed by suspected al Qaeda militants in Hudeida, a Red Sea port.

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