At least two anti-government protestors were shot dead and nine others were injured by gunshots of government backers after the latter caused a blackout at the site of the protest in Yemen's southern province of Taiz late on Wednesday, local witnesses said.

The shooting took place after nearly 200 anti-government protestors gathered at downtown Al-Maafir city, some 20 km south of the province's main city of Taiz, to protest the blackout, witness Abdul-Qawi al-Ezzani told Xinhua by phone.

"The protestors then headed to the location of the electrical generator and attempted to turn it on, but scores of government backers, including policemen in plainclothes, repelled the protestors and opened fire on them, killing two protestors and injuring nine others with gunshots," al-Ezzani said.

Last week, the local protesters took over all government and security facilities of Al-Maafir, but backup of security forces managed to regain control.

Army forces have been deployed in all cities to protect government facilities, public property and protesters recently.