Sunday 13 February 2011

BBC News - Yemen rocked by third day of protests

13 February 2011 Last updated at 13:15

Share this page

Yemen rocked by third day of protests

Police try to stop protesters marching to the presidential palace in Sanaa on 13 February 2011 Witnesses said several people were hurt in the latest clashes to rock Sanaa

Hundreds of demonstrators have clashed with police in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on the third day of anti-government protests.

Violence broke out as demonstrators marched through the city, demanding political reform and the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Mr Saleh, in power since 1978, has already pledged to step down in 2013, but has previously promised to quit.

Yemen's protests have gathered momentum with the success of Egypt's revolution.

"A Yemeni revolution after the Egyptian revolution," chanted demonstrators as they tried to march to the presidential palace in Sanaa on Sunday.

Witnesses said several people were hurt as police armed with batons clashed with stone-throwing protesters.

On Saturday, supporters of the president, armed with knives and sticks, routed demonstrators in the capital.

A day earlier, protesters celebrating the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak were dispersed by the authorities from the city.

The poorest country in the Arab world, Yemen faces the threat of al-Qaeda militants, a separatist movement in the south and an uprising of Shia rebels in the north.