Yemeni regime troops escort a group of March of Dignity protesters who arrived in Sana’a after a five-day walk from Hudaydah on January 8, 2012.
Thousands of Yemeni anti-regime protesters have arrived in the capital Sana’a after a march from the western port city of Hudaydah.
Protesters, who arrived in the capital on Sunday, had started the “March of Dignity” toward Sana’a from Hudaydah, about 294 kilometers (183 miles) from the capital, on January 3.
The March of Dignity protesters came to Sana’a to join other anti-regime demonstrators who had demanded the trial of Yemeni dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In late December 2011, tens of thousands of anti-regime protesters also marched toward Sana’a from the southern city of Taizz, about 322 kilometers (200 miles) from the capital.
Yemeni demonstrators hold Saleh responsible for the killing of hundreds of protesters during the popular uprising that began in late January 2011.
Witnesses said about 3,000 protesters also marched outside the residence of Yemeni Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi in Sana’a on Sunday. The protesters chanted slogans against a power transfer deal that grants Saleh immunity from prosecution.
The Yemeni dictator signed the deal brokered by the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council on November 23, 2011, under which he agreed to transfer his powers to the vice president and step down within 90 days in return for immunity from prosecution.
The opponents of Saleh say that since the signing of the power transfer deal, Saleh has been seeking to maintain his influence over the country through the loyalists in his ruling party and the security forces commanded by his son and nephew. Saleh’s son runs the Republican Guard and his nephew leads the Central Security.
Meanwhile, Hamoud al-Sufi, head of the Taizz provincial council said on Sunday that the council has fired security Chief Brigadier General Abdullah Qairan for his role in the violent crackdown on protests in the city of Taizz during the past months.
HSN/PKH
