Friday Protests Sweep Middle East

Hundreds of thousands demonstrate in Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain and Egypt.

In what is becoming a weekly ritual, citizens across the Middle East took to the streets after Friday prayers to demand democratic reforms. In the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, police erected cordons to separate groups of rival protesters in the city square, hoping to avoid violent clashes between pro- and anti-government supporters that have killed seventeen people since protests demanding an end to Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime began. In Jordan, 10,000 people were expected at a rally in Amman against the royal family, and in Bahrain protesters again filled Pearl Square chanting, “The people want to topple the regime!” In Egypt, demonstrators continue to call for cabinet members appointed by ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak to resign from the interim government.