26th Feb 2011

Rival Protesters Duel in Yemen

By Oliver Holmes

SAN’A—Yemenis took to the streets of the capital on Friday in one of the country’s biggest protests to demand the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Small protests have been taking place in Yemen since mid-January, inspired by the demonstrations in Tunisia and Egypt, but Friday’s crowds were estimated in the tens of thousands.

Outside San’a University, where students have been camped out for weeks, the streets were flooded with people. More than 30,000 people attended Friday prayers at the university, to show their support and to mourn the death of two protesters who were shot and killed late Tuesday night by government loyalists.

Because the protests were spread out over multiple streets in central San’a, reliable numbers were hard to calculate. Local media reported between 50,000 and 80,000 antigovernment demonstrators.

A sea of people knelt on their hands and knees in the street to pray for the dead protesters under flapping Yemeni flags, before rising to chant slogans against the president. Crowds of young men and some women started demonstrating in the faces of riot police.

“People want the regime to collapse,” screamed the heaving crowds, punching the air as they chanted. At one point, some people converged down a side street, causing a bottleneck. Confusion ensued and shots were fired. It is unclear whether the gunfire came from the police or pro-Saleh loyalists, who have fired on protesters in the past. Nobody was injured.

Government loyalists staged a counterdemonstration in Tahrir Square, where they have held rallies over the past few weeks. Giant beige marquees have been set up to prevent antigovernment demonstrators from occupying the square. Around 10,000 men marched up and down the streets yelling, “Yemen needs Ali Abdullah Saleh.”

Although much smaller than the antigovernment protest, Tahrir Square was flooded with people, many carrying wooden batons.

Antigovernment protesters say the loyalists are hired thugs, using violence to quash the opposition. The government has denied any connection with the violence and states it hasn’t paid anyone to protest for the president.

Original article here.