Sanaa, July 05: Massive crowds of protesters have taken to the streets across Yemen once again, calling for the downfall of the regime and denouncing foreign interference in the country’s affairs.
“The nation wants the fall of the regime,” “God is Greatest” and “Victory for Islam,” people chanted during the Monday demonstrations, which were attended by hundreds of thousands of people, a Media correspondent reported.
They voiced outrage at the United States, which they accused of backing up the unpopular Yemeni regime and denounced Saudi Arabia’s interference in Yemen’s internal affairs.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Ali Abdullah Saleh continues to receive treatment in Saudi Arabia for the injuries he received in an attack on the presidential palace on June 3.
Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have been turning out for regular demonstrations in the country’s major cities since January, calling for an end to corruption and unemployment and demanding the ouster of Saleh, who has been in power since 1978.
During the Monday protests, the demonstrators also targeted a proposal tabled by Riyadh and backed by Washington for a gradual power transfer in Yemen.
Based on the plan, Saleh would step down within 30 days of signing the deal with the opposition and a national unity government would run the country until elections are held.
Now the protesters say such transition plans would only prolong Yemen’s political crisis.
Meanwhile, regime forces have shelled opposition tribesmen’s positions around the southwestern city of Taizz, killing at least three tribesmen and injuring several more.
The demonstrators are demanding that Saleh be tried for murdering hundreds of Yemenis during the regime’s crackdown on the protests.
——–Agencies