Next Domino? Protests Now Wrack Libya

Anti-government protests swell in Bahrain, Yemen
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 16, 2011 7:05 AM CST
Updated Feb 16, 2011 7:51 AM CST
Libya Protesters Clash With Police
Demonstrators chant and wave Bahraini flags near the Pearl Monument in Manama, Bahrain.   (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)

Libya—home to the longest-serving member of the rapidly shrinking club of North African dictators—saw clashes between police and hundreds of protesters overnight after the arrest of a human rights activist in the eastern city of Benghazi, the Financial Times reports. Organizers have put out a call on the Internet for a nationwide day of protests tomorrow. Libyan state media, meanwhile, reports that rallies in support of leader Moammar Gadhafi are being held across Libya.

In Yemen, thousands of police were sent into the streets in an attempt to put down the sixth straight day of anti-government protests, the AP reports. Thousands of university students were prevented from joining protests. In Bahrain—scene of violent clashes between police and protesters earlier this week—protests were large but mostly peaceful, with police standing by as thousands occupied the capital's main square. "We will not go home until we succeed. They want us to be violent. We will not,” a protest organizer tells the New York Times. (More Libya protests stories.)

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