Yemeni opposition leader is shot dead

A gunman shot and killed Jarallah Omar, a senior Yemeni left-wing politician, at the annual Islamic Reform Party congress yesterday.

Mr Omar, the deputy secretary-general of the Yemeni Socialist Party, was shot minutes after he had delivered a speech at the annual congress held in the capital, Sanaa, and died on the way to hospital.

A senior Islamic Reform official said the assailant, Ali al-Jarallah, fired two shots at the politician and was attempting a third when he was arrested by police. The gunman had recently been released from prison, after having served a six-month sentence for delivering an anti-government speech, according to a security official.

Another official said security agents had detained al-Jarallah and taken him to the home of the parliamentary speaker and head of the Islamic Reform Party, Abdullah al-Ahmar, for questioning.

Mr Omar was one of several opposition leaders invited to address the Islamic Reform Party assembly. His Socialist Party is regarded as the most popular opposition group in Yemen, but is not represented in parliament, having boycotted the last elections, held in 1997.