Showing posts with label Yemen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yemen. Show all posts

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Anti-government protests erupt in Yemen

Yemen protests: Thousands call on president to leave

Thousands of Yemenis are  demonstrating in the capital Sanaa, calling on Ali Abdullah Saleh,  president for more than 30 years, to step down.
This comes after mass protests in Egypt and a popular uprising in Tunisia that ousted its long-time leader.
Yemeni opposition members and youth activists gathered in  four parts of the city, including Sanaa University, chanting  anti-government slogans.
They also called for economic reforms and an end to corruption.
Yemenis complain of mounting poverty among a growing young population and frustration with a lack of political freedoms.
The country has also been plagued by a range of security  issues, including a separatist movement in the south and an uprising of  Shia Houthi rebels in the north.
There mounting fears that Yemen is becoming a leading  al-Qaeda haven, with the high numbers of unemployed youths seen as  potential recruits for Islamist militant groups.