Officials: 11 dead, 160 hurt as demonstrators fight Yemen troops

(CNN) -- The toll from reported clashes between Yemeni security forces and anti-government protesters in Taiz grew to 11 dead and 160 wounded, medical officials said Monday.

Security forces opened fire on tens of thousands of demonstrators on Sunday in an effort to disperse them, witnesses told CNN. Hundreds of protesters responded by throwing rocks at the security forces, which drew more gunfire from the troops, witnesses said.

The developments came on the same day embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh met with top military and security officials to talk about "hostilities and crimes" occurring in his country, the Yemeni State News Agency reported.

Saleh has been resisting protests calling on him to step down after 33 years in power.

The recent fighting has raised fears of a full-blown civil war in Yemen, an impoverished, arid and mountainous nation that has been a key U.S. ally in the battle against the al Qaeda terrorist network.