Friday 25 March 2011

Thousands in Yemen march against President Saleh

Yemen:Tens of thousands of protesters are on the streets of Sanaa, Yemen's capital, to call for an end to Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule, as the embattled president said he would only hand over power "to capable, responsible hands". Addressing a large rally of his own supporters in a speech carried on state TV earlier on Friday, Saleh said he was ready to meet with protesters, but warned that those demanding his resignation had been influenced by the Houthis - an armed Shia Zaidi group demanding autonomy in the country's north - and "drug dealers". Saleh was president of North Yemen until its 1990 unification with the south - and has ruled the country since. But Al Jazeera's special correspondent, reporting from the capital's Change (Taghyir) Square - where 52 protesters were killed last Friday - said little new was offered in the speech; on one hand, warning and threatening those standing against him, and on the other, promising reforms and saying he would listen to the demands of the people.

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