Aden (ANTARA News/AFP) - Yemeni security forces shot dead a southern activist and wounded six others at Mukalla in the southeast on Thursday when they fired on a pro-autonomy demonstration, witnesses said.

They said security forces intervened to disperse the protesters who were celebrating the fact that they had been able to disrupt Tuesday`s single-candidate presidential election and demonstrations in favour of the poll.

Thursday`s demonstrators called for "revolution in the south," and carried flags of the former South Yemen, which was independent before merging with former North Yemen in 1990.

They also attacked a camp of "youths of the revolution," organisers of protests against the regime of outgoing president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is being replaced by his deputy Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi for two years in a Gulf-brokered deal.

The Southern Movement boycotted Tuesday`s referendum to endorse Hadi as transitional president, saying it did not meet their aspirations for autonomy or even independence.

That led to polling stations being attacked across the south in violence that killed 10 people. (*)

Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2012