Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Yemen unrest: Thousands join fresh protests

1 Mar, 2011
Source: BBC

A protester demands the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh during a demonstration in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday Protesters have been angered by the deaths of fellow demonstrators

Tens of thousands of people have flooded the streets of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, again voicing their demands for the fall of the government.

Protesters shouted "Leave!", signalling their rejection of an offer made by President Ali Abdullah Saleh's Monday to form a new unity government.

Mr Saleh has blamed the US and Israel for unrest in Yemen and elsewhere.

He has been forced to endure daily protests inspired by the overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt.

'Copycat' revolt

"The events from Tunisia to Oman are a storm orchestrated from Tel Aviv and and under Washington's supervision," President Saleh told reporters in Sanaa, according to AFP news agency.

"What is taking place on Yemen's streets is just a copycat attempt, as Yemen is not Tunisia or Egypt and the Yemeni people are different," he said.

Analysts say the remarks are the harshest criticism yet of Washington from the man who has been an ally in the US campaign against al-Qaeda.

They came a day after Mr Saleh offered to include members of the opposition in his government in return to an end to the protests.

But neither gesture did much to placate protesters, thousands of whom gathered not only in Sanaa but in other Yemeni cities including Taiz, Ibb and al-Bayda governorate, according to the website of the Yemeni weekly Al-Masdar.

They say they called Tuesday's "day of rage" in response to the deaths of anti-government "martyrs" during protests, particularly in the southern port city of Aden.

Troops fired on demonstrators in that city at the end of last week, killing four, according to officials quoted by Associated Press news agency. However, human rights group Amnesty International said 11 people were shot dead..

Amnesty says the overall death toll in the recent protests has now reached 27, with 24 of the deaths occurring in Aden.

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