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.

Reports say they gathered in at least four locations in the capital, including Sanaa University.

Protesters chanted anti-government slogans and made reference to the overthrow of the Tunisian president.

Organisers have called on students and civil society groups to protest against corruption and economic policies.

Yemenis complain of mounting poverty among a growing young population and frustration with a lack of political freedoms.

More than 40% of Yemen's population live on less than $2 (£1.25) a day.

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 are 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.

　

'Tunisia-inspired'

There have been a series of smaller protests in the lead up to Thursday's mass demonstrations.

On Saturday, hundreds of Sanaa University students held competing protests on campus, with some calling for President Saleh to step down and others for him to remain in office.

Over the weekend, Yemeni authorities arrested prominent rights activist, Tawakul Karman, accusing her of organising the anti-government protests. Her arrest sparked further protests in Sanaa.

After her release from prison on Monday, she told CNN that there was a revolution taking place in her country inspired by Tunisia's so-called Jasmine Revolution.

Protests in Tunisia have ended 23 years of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's rule and ignited unrest elsewhere in the region, including Algeria and Egypt.

President Saleh, a Western ally, became leader of North Yemen in 1978, and has ruled the Republic of Yemen since the north and south merged in 1990. He was last re-elected in 2006.

Yemenis are angry over parliament's attempts to loosen the rules on presidential term limits, sparking opposition concerns that Mr Saleh might try to appoint himself president for life.

-BBC