At least five protesters were killed and scores of others wounded Thursday in the Yemeni capital Sana’a after gunmen in civilian clothes opened fire on them. Violence broke out despite the signing Wednesday, by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, of a plan to hand over power and hold new elections in three months. Witnesses say gunmen in tribal attire opened fire on the crowd of mostly young protesters Thursday after they began marching from their main encampment at what is now called “Change Square.” Arab satellite channels said the shootings took place as the protesters began marching in the direction of the presidential palace. Journalist Tom Finn also tweeted that “thousands of angry men marched out of Change Square…..saying they’re heading for the palace.” Al Arabiya TV showed video of the bodies of five dead protesters, along with images of ambulances ferrying wounded protesters to hospitals. Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who signed a Gulf Cooperation Council plan Wednesday to transfer power to his vice president along with new presidential elections in three months, condemned the killings and ordered an investigation into what happened. “The government wants people to feel that if Saleh leaves everything will turn chaotic,” said Hakim Almasmari, who is Editor-in-Chief of the Yemen Post newspaper.  He insists that supporters of President Saleh are behind the shootings. “Most of the protesters today blamed the ruling family for the attacks and eyewitnesses said that they saw gunmen escape the scene of the attacks in government vehicles,” he said. Photo Gallery: Protests in Yemen A top interior ministry official denied that the government was responsible for Thursday’s violence. Almasmari says despite the signing of the GCC peace accord, President Saleh’s son and nephews still control much of the country’s military apparatus, leaving Saleh with many levers of power. “Saleh’s sons and nephews control over 300,000 troops right now, over 80,000 central security forces, over 110,000 Republican Guard, the special forces, the counter-terror units,” he noted. “These are all still under the control of the ruling family. We cannot consider the Saleh regime over until these forces are out of their hands. If not, it does not differ whether he is out of [power] or not, because he indirectly controls more parts of the military.” President Saleh is the fourth Arab leader who will have been forced to leave office this year. He is expected to travel from Saudi Arabia to the United States for medical treatment soon, before settling in an unspecified Gulf country. Timeline of events in Yemen Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices . Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page.

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World leaders are gathering in France Thursday to discuss Libya’s future after Moammar Gadhafi, as Russia became the latest country to recognize the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the country’s legitimate authority. The conference in Paris brings together officials from 60 countries, including those that have backed the NTC for months as well as those that have not recognized the provisional authority. Officials expect NTC leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil to outline an 18-month roadmap to creating a new constitution and holding elections. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon and U.S. Secretary of State are among the leaders attending the meeting hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. China and Russia, which have criticized NATO’s campaign of airstrikes in Libya carried out under a U.N. mandate to protect civilians, are also sending representatives to the talks.  Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday it recognizes the NTC as Libya’s “ruling authority” and notes the council’s reform plans. France said Thursday it has been cleared to release more than $2 billion in frozen Libyan assets after appealing to the sanctions committee of U.N. Security Council.  The committee has already approved similar appeals by Britain and the United States, releasing a total of more than $3 billion in seized Libyan assets to address urgent humanitarian needs. European Union diplomats say they expect a final agreement Thursday on lifting sanctions against several Libyan ports, oil companies and more than a dozen other entities.  The move is part of an effort to help the provisional authority resume economic activities frozen under Gadhafi’s rule. Provisional authorities have set a Saturday deadline for Gadhafi and his forces to surrender and give up the final areas under their control. One of Gadhafi’s sons, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, said late Wednesday that loyalist commanders have told him their men would fight to the death and that their morale is high. His defiant comments contrasted with those of his brother, Saadi, who told al-Arabiya television he is ready to discuss forming a coalition government with anti-Gadhafi forces in order to stop the bloodshed. Saadi claimed he was speaking with his father’s blessing. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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(AP) – In this photo taken on Thursday, May 19, 2011, a Manchurian tiger named Hua Hua, who gives birth four liger cubs are seen at a zoo in Weihai in east China’s Shandong province. Cong Wen of Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo in eastern China says four cubs were born to a female tiger and a male lion on May 13. The tiger mom fed the ligers for four days then for unknown reasons abandoned them, she says. Chinese zoo workers brought in a dog to nurse them instead, but two died of weakness. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

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