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Thousands Protest In Yemen, Syria

Last updated (GMT/UTC): 25.03.2011 15:43

Protesters are on the streets of Yemen and Syria today as the Arab world's wave of reform demands shows no sign of subsiding.

Supporters and opponents of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh held competing mass rallies in the capital Sanaa today but with no clashes between the two sides.

Saleh told a cheering crowd of tens of thousands in the city center that he would not bend to opposition demands he step down.

"We will stand firm with you ... steadfast in the face of all challenges," he said. He said he had no personal desire for power but refused to hand it over to "corrupt and hateful hands" -- as he dubbed his opponents.

Nearby, tens of thousands of protesters thronged the main square near Sanaa University, where they have been camped since February 21. The protesters massed despite the government's deployment of troops on roads leading to Sanaa to prevent demonstrators reaching the city from outside.

At one point, the supporters of Saleh appeared ready to march against the protesters near the university but were turned back by soldiers firing warning shots over their heads. There were no immediate reports of casualties at the demonstrations.

On March 24, Saleh challenged his opponents to come to the table for talks or bear responsibility for any bloodshed.

"Come for a political dialogue and we will transfer authority peacefully, by constitutional means,” he said. “[But] you will take full responsibility if blood is shed."

Today's protests come after security forces shot dead more than 40 demonstrators in Sanaa on March 18. But that bloodshed seemed to only increase defections from Saleh's own military and among key tribal leaders to the opposition camp.

One general who defected to the opposition, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, deployed his troops this week around central Sanaa Square to protect the protesters who have camped out there for weeks.

The general held talks with Saleh today but sources close to both sides said the meeting failed to reach a deal to defuse the crisis in the country.

Over the past days, there has been fierce jockeying by both sides to win public opinion.

The opposition has rejected Saleh's offer to step down by the end of this year as too little, too late. And Saleh has urged ordinary Yemenis who want reforms to shun opposition leaders and form their own party instead.

Syrian Unrest Escalates

Meanwhile, reports quoting witnesses say Syrian troops opened fire on protesters in the southern city of Daraa, as antigovernment demonstrations spread across the country in spite of the regime's promises of reforms.

The shooting in Daraa came after protesters set fire to a statue of late President Hafez Assad, President Bashar's Assad's father.

Crowds had gathered in the city's central square to mourn the deaths of dozens of people killed in similar rallies in the city earlier this week.

Reports also said several people were killed when troops fired on people coming toward Daraa from nearby regions to support the people inside the city.

Antigovernment protests took place in several other cities today, including in the capital, Damascus.

The new protests come despite a promise by authorities that the ruling Ba’ath party had agreed to study the scrapping of emergency laws in force since 1963.

Authorities said the government would raise workers' wages, license more political parties, relax media restrictions, and fight corruption.

compiled from agency reports

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/further_unrest_in_yemen_and_syria/3536848.html

Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.