Yemenis demand Saleh's prosecution

Hundreds of protesters left Yemen's southern province of Taiz on Tuesday for a four-day march towards the capital Sanaa to demand the prosecution of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The protesters, who are calling for trials of Saleh and his aides for "ordering crackdown on anti-government protests during the past months," will walk almost 200 km to Sanaa with banners rejecting the Gulf-brokered deal that granted Saleh immunity, the march organizers said.

The march, which is accompanied by mobile clinic and kitchen, aims to send a message to the United Nations Security Council and the Arab League about their demand to prosecute Saleh, according to the organizers.

The impoverished Arab country has been in the grip of a 11- month-long political crisis triggered by mass protests demanding an end to Saleh's 33-year rule. Thousands of people have been killed or injured since late January.

Saleh and the opposition signed a power transfer deal initiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 23. Under the deal, a new opposition-led coalition government was formed earlier this month and early presidential elections are set to be held on February 21, 2012, while Saleh will retain the title of honorary president for 90 days before his resignation and will enjoy immunity from prosecution afterwards.