SYRIA: Thousands of protesters vow to occupy square until Assad ousted.
More than 5,000 anti-government demonstrators took over the main square of Syria’s third-largest city Monday, vowing to occupy the site until President Bashar Assad is ousted and defying authorities who warn they will not be forced into reforms.
The government, however, blamed the weeks of anti-government unrest in the country on ultraconservative Muslims seeking to establish a fundamentalist state and terrorize the people, in the latest official effort to portray the reform movement as populated by extremists.
The Egypt-style standoff in the central city of Homs followed funeral processions by more than 10,000 mourners for some of those killed in clashes Sunday that a rights group said left at least 12 people dead.
Also Monday, an official said the Obama administration will oppose Syria’s candidacy to the United Nations’ top human-rights body, calling the Arab country’s attempt to gain a seat in the organization “hypocritical” while it uses violence to try to silence protests against Assad’s authoritarian regime.
YEMEN: Defectors from president set up own party.
Several top figures who defected from the embattled Yemeni president’s camp set up their own opposition party Monday in another blow to the longtime ruler who has clung to power despite near-daily protests demanding his ouster. Police in a southern port town fired tear gas and live ammunition at thousands of protesters calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down, injuring 45 people.
The developments underscore Yemen’s precarious situation after two months of mass protests over the lack of freedoms and extreme poverty. Yemeni rights groups say the crackdown has killed more than 120 people, but it has not deterred crowds from gathering.
EGYPT: Islamist groups demand removal of governor.
Protesters led by hard-line Islamists in southern Egypt held their ground Monday, saying they won’t end their campaign of civil disobedience until the government removes a newly appointed Coptic Christian governor.
The protesters, many from the ultraconservative Salafi trend of Islam, have been sitting on train tracks, occupying government buildings and blocking main roads in the southern city of Qena, insisting the new governor won’t properly implement Islamic law.
Since the Feb. 11 ousting of President Hosni Mubarak in popular protests, Islamist groups have been flexing their muscles and are vowing to take a more active political role as Egypt is still drawing up its transition to democracy.
Denver Post wire services
