Demonstrators in Yemen redefined “a sea of protesters” in Sanaa today to call for the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Gathered on the city’s main street, they chanted “We are steadfast, you leader of the corrupt” and “Peaceful, peaceful, no to civil war.” The march was in part a funeral procession. The speaker’s podium held the bodies of thirteen protesters killed during Saleh’s violent crackdown, which has killed at least 170 people thus far, including three today at similar protests in other Yemeni cities. Saleh has clung to his leadership of the poorest country in the Arab world despite defections from every camp, including politicians, military, and tribal leaders. In Ibb, the city where protesters were killed, even several military policemen joined a funeral procession for a man shot Wednesday. But Saleh is still defiant, warning the opposition today to “stop playing with fire” and pledging to “defend” his country “by all means.”
What Four Miles of Yemeni Protesters Looks and Sounds Like [Atlantic Wire]
Yemen’s Saleh defies crowds demanding his exit[Reuters]
