Egypt inspires more protests in Middle East

Police tried to disperse the demonstrators using tear gas, batons and stun guns, but about 3,000 defiantly continued their march.

The crowds set off from the capital Sanaa’s university toward the city centre, chanting slogans against president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Like ousted President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, he is backed by the US which fears Islamic militancy and the activities of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

The US military has recently stepped up its involvement in training Yemen’s counter-terrorism forces to counteract a local affiliate of al-Qaida that has mounted several attacks against the US

Mr Saleh, who has been in office for more than 30 years, has tried to blunt recent unrest by promising not to seek re-election when his term ends in 2013 and has been contacting powerful tribal leaders to try to enlist their support to defuse the protests.

Impoverished Yemen is one of several countries in the Middle East feeling the aftershocks of pro-reform uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

The tidal wave of unrest has also reached Bahrain where thousands of protesters poured into a main square into the capital yesterday, following battles with security forces over two days, leading to the deaths of two protesters.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa made a rare TV address, offering condolences for the deaths and pledging to push ahead with reforms.

Hard-line reaction to demonstrations in Iran, however, yesterday led Iranian MPs to demand opposition leaders be executed after anti-government demonstrations left one person dead and dozens injured.

Tens of thousands turned out on Monday in the first major show of strength from Iran’s opposition in more than a year.