President
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
, the target of widespread protests for the past three weeks, has said he will not step down before the end of his term in 2013.
However,
The infamous
However...
he has pledged security forces will not fire on protesters. Medical officials have said 11 people have been killed in protests this month.
Police stood by Tuesday as demonstrators marched in the eastern town of Al-Shiher, chanting "Down, down with Saleh."
In the capital of Sanaa, thousands rallied at a university campus while hundreds continued to camp out in a nearby square.
Demonstrators set up checkpoints around the square and searched those trying to enter.