Clashes and protests in Yemen
- 12 years ago
Clashes break out in Yemen. Forces loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh open fire to stop protesters approaching the leader's compound in the capital Sanaa Saturday
Tens of thousands are making their way to the capital city in protest.
They say pro-Saleh troops fired shots as a protest march that set out days ago from the southern city of Taiz arrived in the capital.
They are demanding that Saleh face trial.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) SAMAH RADMAN, PROTESTER, SAYING:
"This protest renews the aims of the Yemeni revolution and announces that we are going to take back all the state's institutions, not by agreement, but by revolutionary acts until we have entirely taken over all of the country's institutions."
Under the terms of a power transfer deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saleh and his family were granted immunity from prosecution. In exchange, the leader has to transfer powers to his deputy.
Protesters want to purge the government of members of Saleh's family, who still hold key posts in the military and security forces.
If he goes, Saleh would be the fourth leader to surrender power after mass protests that have redrawn the political map in North Africa and the Middle East.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
Tens of thousands are making their way to the capital city in protest.
They say pro-Saleh troops fired shots as a protest march that set out days ago from the southern city of Taiz arrived in the capital.
They are demanding that Saleh face trial.
(SOUNDBITE)(Arabic) SAMAH RADMAN, PROTESTER, SAYING:
"This protest renews the aims of the Yemeni revolution and announces that we are going to take back all the state's institutions, not by agreement, but by revolutionary acts until we have entirely taken over all of the country's institutions."
Under the terms of a power transfer deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saleh and his family were granted immunity from prosecution. In exchange, the leader has to transfer powers to his deputy.
Protesters want to purge the government of members of Saleh's family, who still hold key posts in the military and security forces.
If he goes, Saleh would be the fourth leader to surrender power after mass protests that have redrawn the political map in North Africa and the Middle East.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters