Yemen Sees Largest Protests Since President's Exit

Military policemen stood guard outside a ministry building in Sanaa in early June.

Reports say that hundreds of thousands of Yemenis have demonstrated in nearly every major city of the country, demanding trial for the family and close aides of the ailing president.

They were the largest protests since President Ali Abdullah Saleh went abroad at the start of June for medical treatment for injuries suffered in a mortar attack on his compound.

Some of Saleh's family and closest aides remained behind, and Yemen remains locked in a power struggle between the president's allies and tribesmen demanding an end to the regime's nearly 33-year rule.

In Washington, the State Department said the U.S. is worried that the ongoing unrest in Yemen could fuel connections between Al-Qaeda-linked militants there and Al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia.

compiled from agency reports