Revolutionary Women in Yemen call for US-backed Saleh ouster

Thousands of Yemeni women have held a demonstration in the capital Sana’a, calling on the embattled ruler, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to relinquish power immediately.

“For the victory of the revolution, for Ali Abdullah Saleh to take heed of what happened to Gaddafi and to hear what the world is saying: it’s not a political crisis but a popular revolution,” said one of the demonstrators on Monday, Reuters reported.

Nationwide protests against the US-backed regime of Saleh have shown no sign of abating despite the harsh crackdown by Yemeni security forces.

Forces loyal to Saleh continue to target civilians and independent-minded soldiers who have sided with protesters.

In the latest wave of violence, regime forces opened fire on civilians in the southern city of Taizz on Monday, killing seven people and wounding many more.

Witnesses said a seven-year old boy was killed and a five-year-old was wounded after regime loyalists opened fire on anti-government demonstrators.

Saleh’s loyalists also shelled neighborhoods in the city’s north, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The latest protests came in the wake of a non-binding UN Security Council resolution urging Saleh to immediately sign a power transition deal brokered by Persian Gulf’s Arab states, which calls on him to step down.

Saleh, who has been in power for almost 33 years, on Monday welcomed the UN resolution but failed to say if he would comply and resign. Instead, he renewed his calls for dialogue with the opposition which demand his ouster.

Yemenis, however, have rejected the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council initiative which offers Saleh immunity from prosecution in return for resignation.