Bull disrupts Yemen parliament

Yemen is dominated by tribal customs, including sacrifices

Yemen's parliament was interrupted when a raging bull broke free from its captors and injured three people, before being shot dead by police.

The bull had been brought to parliament for slaughter by tribesmen on Saturday to underline a grievance with a lawmaker Ahmed al-Kohlany.

A Yemeni family, the Meyads, had planned to protest against the confiscation of their land.

Under tribal custom, spilling a bull's blood would have been seen as a public declaration of animosity.

As the bull was being unloaded, it broke free and ran into the legislature, which was holding its first parliamentary session since last month's elections.

Giving chase

Armed security and parliamentary staff chased the rampaging bull outside where it threw a Russian tourist into the air, seriously injuring her and a Yemeni child.

An employee at the legislature was also injured as attendants tried to wrestle the angry bull to a halt.

With armed security and parliamentary staff in chase, the animal broke into the legislative chamber where hundreds of lawmakers were sitting, before it barged its way back out onto the street.

Society in Yemen, a conservative country at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is dominated by tribal customs and plagued by clan-related violence.

The parliamentary session has been postponed until Sunday.