Yesterday, hundreds of thousands rallied across Yemen in the largest anti-government wave of the past month, including a gathering addressed by an influential cleric, Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the U.S. has linked to al-Qaida.
In the capital city of Sanaa, Tuesday's 'day of rage' demonstrators chanted "With blood and soul we support you, Aden," referring to the southern port city where most of the 24 people killed in the past two weeks of protests have died.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh addressed about 500 students and lecturers at Sanaa University on Tuesday, where he claimed that protests had been orchestrated by Tel Aviv, under the direction of Washington DC. Saleh, a U.S. ally against Islamist militants, has failed to quell two months of protests in a country of 23 million where 40 percent live on less than $2 a day and a third are undernourished.
Below is an excerpt of his speech:
"Every day we hear a statement from Obama saying 'Egypt you can't do this, Tunisia don't do that. What do you have to do with Egypt? Or Oman? Are you the president of the United States, or president of the world?'
There was no direct comment from President Obama, but Press Secretary Jay Carney advised Saleh to respond to the demands of his people rather than use scapegoating.
Today, President Saleh called John Brennan, Obama's top adviser for counter-terrorism in Washington to express regret over comments that the United States and Israel have orchestrated the protests in Arab nations.
Yemen has been among the Arabic countries facing mass protests calling for a change in leadership.
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