Military

Yemenis stage new protests, demand president leave office

RIA Novosti

16:14 14/02/2011 MOSCOW, February 14 (RIA Novosti) - At least 3,000 protestors gathered on Monday on the streets of Yemen's capital Sanaa in a hopes of repeating the success of the recent revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia and to oust their long-standing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Clashes between pro- and anti-government protestors ensued on the streets. The two sides threw rocks at each other and brandished knives and daggers, eyewitnesses said. Protesters chanted "Down, down with Ali, long live Yemen!" as police formed a human shield to keep crowds from spreading and dividing the two sides.

Mass upheavals, the first large-scale public challenge to Saleh during his rule, broke out in Yemen in late January when tens of thousands of Yemenis took to the streets in Sanaa demanding the end of his 32-year regime.

In early February, Saleh said he would not seek to run in 2013 when his presidency expires and his son would not succeed him as president.