Yemenis Hit Streets, Inspired By Protests In Tunisia And Egypt

Protests for democratic reforms spread Thursday from Tunisia and Egypt to Yemen, where thousands of people gathered in the capital, Sanaa, to demand that the impoverished country’s longtime president step down.

Yemen, which has become a base for al Qaeda terrorists, is a key U.S. ally in counterterrorism intelligence and operations, having allowed U.S. drone attacks on terrorist suspects. It also received about $300 million in military and development aid from the U.S. last year.

The Arab world’s poorest country, Yemen has a population of about 28 million, nearly half of whom live below the poverty line; it also has high rates of unemployment and rampant corruption in its government.

In recent months, Yemenis have been angered by moves to amend the nation’s constitution to extend the term of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years. His current term expires in 2013.

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