Yemen protests swell in 'Friday of no return'

SANAA. March 11. KAZINFORM Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets across Yemen on Friday, trying to draw record crowds to show President Ali Abdullah Saleh his offers of reform would not soften their demand for his resignation; Kazinform refers to Arab News.

At Sanaa University, the launchpad for protests in the capital, Yemenis flooded the streets, even cramming into tiny alleys, in crowds stretching back about two km (1.3 miles).

The demonstrations followed Thursday's proposal by Saleh, a US ally against Al-Qaeda's Yemen-based wing, for a new constitution to be put to referendum within the year and new electoral laws to ensure equal representation. Opposition figures rejected the offer, calling it "too little, too late."

Impoverished Yemen is one of several Arab states that has been rocked by protests this year, with Saleh looking increasingly weakened by unrest.

Protesters in Sanaa, many of whom brought their children in what the opposition has billed the "Friday of no return," said they were intent on his ending his 32-year grip on power.

Chanting slogans against Saleh, many held signs saying, "Leaving means leaving. There isn't a better option."

Saleh, whose failing state was already plagued by on-off rebellions in the north and south, has struggled to quell weeks of mass protests that have claimed almost 30 lives.

"The president said he doesn't want to leave power because he's afraid for the country, so he sent his love by shooting at you on Tuesday night. What would he do if he stayed in power?" Muslim preacher Abdulwehab Al-Dilmy asked protesters in Sanaa.

In the capital's main Tahrir square, tens of thousands of Saleh loyalists, touting pictures of the 68-year-old leader, voiced their support, chanting "Yes to dialogue. No to chaos;" Kazinform cites Arab News.

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