Huge Protests in Yemen as Talks Drag On

 

Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Yemen’s capital, Sana, and cities across the country on Friday, keeping alive their efforts to drive President Ali Abdullah Saleh from office, according to activists and news reports from Yemen.

As the protests erupted, a plan that would allow Mr. Saleh to leave office in exchange for immunity from prosecution continued to languish. The plan, brokered by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, had been approved by the mainstream opposition and Mr. Saleh, but not by the street protesters who are leery of any promises made by the president.

As the two sides bickered over details, one of the council’s members, Qatar, announced on Thursday that it was “compelled” to pull out of the talks “because of procrastination” and continued confrontations, according to a statement published by the official Qatari news agency.

Qatar and Yemen have long had a troubled relationship. In a statement Friday, the Yemeni government said it “warmly welcomed” Qatar’s withdrawal from negotiations. Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s largest international donor, is considered to be the gulf council’s most influential member.

Protesters reported being attacked by government forces in the cities of Ibb and Taiz on Friday.

In Ibb, a small city south of the capital, snipers opened fire on protesters after noon prayers, killing three of them, according to a local doctor who spoke by phone. In Taiz, a hub of opposition to Mr. Saleh, a doctor said by e-mail that government forces had fired on the crowds, wounding two protesters.

At a demonstration in the western port city of Hodeidah, protesters raised a Qatari flag, according to a video posted on YouTube, apparently showing their appreciation that Qatar had pulled out of the talks on the gulf council deal.

In the capital, Mr. Saleh remained defiant, lashing out at his critics in front of a crowd of tens of thousands of supporters in what has turned into a Friday ritual. “What we built in 22 years, you spoiled in three months,” he said.

“The military is obliged to protect its institutions with all its might,” he said, in what appears to have been a warning to protesters in the capital who have been mainly confined to an area outside Sana University but have promised to bring their demonstrations to government buildings.

Earlier this week, at least 10 protesters in Sana were killed when they tried to march on government buildings.