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Yemenis turn Friday prayers to political rallies
[Emirates 24/7] Tens of thousands of Yemenis turned Friday prayers into rallies for and against President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... who is recovering from injuries sustained in an liquidation attempt earlier this month. Witnesses said Saleh opponents packed Sixty Street to listen to a Mohammedan preacher urge acting President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to do more to end a standoff over demands that Saleh quit to allow Yemenis to chose a new leader. "We have sacrificed all what we own, you should sacrifice what you can," the preacher said, addressing Hadi. Hadi told CNN that Saleh was so severely injured in the liquidation attempt that it is uncertain when he will return to the country after his treatment in Soddy Arabia. Yemen, a southern neighbour of Soddy Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has been rocked by months of protests by tens of thousands demanding Saleh end his 33 years in power. The United States and Soddy Arabia fear that Islamist hard boyz linked to al Qaeda, which has established a foothold in southern Yemen, might exploit the unrest to carry out attacks in the region and beyond. Both have urged Saleh to step down under a plan proposed by Gulf Arab states. But 69-year-old Saleh has resisted the pressure, hoping protesters will grow tired and drop their demands. "We will continue to pay the price until we liberate our country from a tyrannical family-run regime," the preacher said. In his interview with CNN, Hadi said that according to doctors treating Saleh, no one can tell when the president might return. "Days, weeks, months," he told CNN through a translator. "It could be months, this is a decision up to the doctors." At Seventy Street, a smaller number of Saleh supporters marched out of Friday prayers holding placards and posters of the president. "You are our president, leader and commander until 2013," one placard read, referring to when Saleh's term ends. Posted by: Fred 2011-07-02 |
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