At least 800 marched the streets of Sanaa today to protest against the ruling of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, according to Reuters [5]. Similar to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Seleh is an ally of the U.S. and has ruled for more than 30 years. Fear of chaos and a possible al-Qaeda resurgence caused Seleh to announce he will step down in 2013.
Despite clashes with loyalists and police efforts, the protests have been going on for six days. Analysts say that less people have been gathering each day. Most of the protests now are youth-led and based out of Sanaa University. Rafea Abdullah, a student of the university said, "We're no weaker than Tunisians and Egyptians, and our situation is worse than theirs."
In preceding days tens of thousands of demonstrators participated in the rallies. Now youth calling for Seleh's resignation are becoming frustrated with the people of Yemen who have seemingly given up on the fight. Analysts say that an uprising in Yemen could develop more slowly than in Egypt and Tunisia, and with more violence.
(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
