Yemen, Qatar host anti-Assad protests

The International Union of Muslim Scholars headed by influential cleric Yusuf Al-Qaradawi organised a rally in Qatar on Friday in support of anti-government protesters in Syria. Members of the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC), which has been meeting in the capital Doha, joined the rally by several hundred people after the main weekly Muslim prayers, AFP reported. Qaradawi told demonstrators that the rally was aimed at "supporting the people of Syria," where more than 6,000 people have been killed since pro-democracy protests erupted in March last year, according to activists. The Sunni cleric called on Syrian troops ordered to take part in the government's deadly crackdown to "align with the people and let go of the regime." Another leading member of Qaradawi's grouping, Salahudin Sultan, appealed to Gulf leaders to arm rebel fighters in Syria and send troops to back them.  Thousands of protesters also rallied in the Yemeni capital in support of the uprising in Syria. The demonstrators, who gathered in Sanaa's Change Square - epicentre of a year of protests against veteran President Ali Abdullah Saleh - chanted slogans in favour of the poll in which Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi will be the sole candidate. But they also pledged support for the uprising in Syria, where activists say regime forces have killed more than 6,000 people since mid-March, AFP reported. "From (Yemen's southern city of) Aden to Sanaa we will all sacrifice for Daraa," they chanted, referring to Syria's southern city which was the cradle of the protest movement. The protesters hanged a dummy representing Assad. The gathering took place after the weekly Muslim Friday prayers in which the preacher urged the Yemeni government to expel the Syrian ambassador.