Yemenis trying to oust leader protest for 5th day

SANAA, Yemen (AP) – Thousands of people marching for the ouster of Yemen’s U.S.-allied president clashed Tuesday with police and government supporters, and at least three demonstrators were injured in a fifth straight day of Egypt-inspired protests.

Police tried to disperse the demonstrators using tear gas and batons, but about 3,000 protesters defiantly continued their march from Sanaa University toward the city center, chanting slogans against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, including “Down with the president’s thugs!”

The procession gained momentum with hundreds of students and rights activists joining along the way.

The unrest comes as ties between the U.S. and Saleh have been growing recently over rising alarm in Washington about the activities of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The U.S. military has embarked on a plan to deepen its involvement in training Yemen’s counterterrorism force to counteract a local affiliate of al-Qaida that has mounted several attacks against the U.S.